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Radford's 
Practical    Barn    Plans 

Being  a  Complete 
Collection  of  Practical 
Economical  and  Com- 
mon-Sense Plans  of 
Barns,  Out  Buildings 
and  Stock  Sheds  ::  ::  :: 

By  WILLIAM  A.  RADFORD 

Editor-in-Chief  of  the  "American  Carpenter  and  Builder  " 
and  the  "  Cement  World"  President  of  "The  Radford 
Architectural  Co.f  Author  of  "The  Steel  Square 
and  Its  Uses"  and  "Practical  Carpentry"  and 
the  Best  Authority  in  the  Country  on  all  Mat- 
ters Pertaining  to  the  Building  Industry 


ivadford    /Vrchitectural    (company 

CHICAGO,  ILL. 


Copyrighted,   1907, 

BV 

William  A.  Radford,  Chicago 


PREFACE 


Better  farming  methods  require  better 
buildings,  not  necessarily  expensive  ones, 
but  buildings  that  are  well  planned  and 
properly  adapted  to  the  work  for  which 
they  are  intended.  A  farm  building  should 
be  first  a  property  saver,  second  a  labor 
saver.  Farm  buildings  may  be  considered 
in  a  sense  as  a  necessary  expense,  but  on 
the  other  hand  they  should  be  considered 
in  the  light  of  an  investment. 

A  farm  barn  is  the  farmer's  factory.  It 
is  a  building  in  which  he  converts  raw  ma- 
terials into  manufactured  products.  In  a 
dairy  stable  he  takes  cheap  feeds  and 
manufacturers  them  into  expensive  cream 
and  butter.  In  feeding  stables  and  hog 
pens  he  manufacturers  high  priced  breed- 
ing stock  as  well  as  good  beef,  mutton  and 
pork  out  of  grain  and  roughage. 

It  makes  a  great  difference  in  the  profits 
whether  this  barn  factory  is  so  construc- 
ted that  the  animals  may  be  made  com- 
fortable enough  to  make  the  best  possible 
use  of  the  feeds  given  them.  Profits  are 
also  seriously  affected  by  the  labor  prob- 
lem. Barns  and  stables  may  be  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  conserve  labor  or  to  waste 
labor. 

The  object  of  this  book  is  to  present  a 
great  many  up-to-date  ideas  in  arranging 
and  building  in  such  a  way  as  to  enable 
farmers  to  take  advantage  of  the  exper- 
ience of  others.  The  author  does  not 
claim  credit  for  the  different  plans  and  ar- 
rangements offered.  He  has  gathered 
them  from  successful  barn  builders  and 
architects  in  many  different  states  and  in 
Canada. 

In  selecting  a  plan  the  farmer  himself 
must  be  the  judge  of  what  he  needs.  The 
kind  of  farm  building  best  adapted  to  one 


part  of  the  country  is  not  suitable  for  an- 
other. Two  farms  adjoining  need  differ- 
ent buildings  because  the  kind  of  farming 
differs  with  individuals.  One  farmer 
makes  a  great  mistake  by  blindly  copying 
what  another  farmer  uses  to  advantage. 
Every  building  requires  careful  study  to 
fit  it  carefully  into  the  environments  of 
the  farm  and  the  peculiarities  of  the  man. 

It  is  not  the  aim  or  intention  of  this  book 
to  induce  farmers  to  put  unnecessary 
money  in  buildings.  So  far  as  possible 
utility  has  been  combined  with  economy 
in  construction.  The  profits  in  farming 
operations  for  the  most  part  are  gathered 
in  a  retail  way.  In  this  respect  a  farmer's 
business  is  different  from  commercial 
manufacturing  concerns  because  the  out- 
put cannot  be  multiplied  indefinitely. 
There  is  a  limit  to  the  production  of  any 
kind  of  farm  product;  hence  the  necessity 
of  economy  in  building.  At  the  same  time 
it  pays  to  build  well. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  in  most  cases 
there  are  plans  of  cheap  structures,  med- 
ium priced  buildings  and  others  that  are 
thoroughly  good.  It  does  not  follow  that 
the  more  expensive  buildings  are  better 
for  the  purpose  than  some  of  the  cheaper 
ones.  They  are  all  well  adapted  to  the 
uses  for  which  they  are  intended.  The 
cheaper  ones  will  answer  the  purpose,  but 
at  the  same  time  the  better  ones  will  prove 
more  lasting  and  satisfactory  if  the  farmer 
has  the  necessary  means  at  hand  to  con- 
struct them.  There  is  great  satisfaction 
in  having  good  buildings  if  the  owner  se- 
cures what  he  wants  and  gets  the  worth 
of  his  money. 

In  permanent  structures  the  use  of  con- 
crete  is  recommended   wherever  practic- 


PREFACE 


able  because  it  is  comparatively  cheap  and 
because  it  is  lasting.  The  price  of  lumber 
has  almost  doubled  in  ten  years,  while  ce- 
ment is  better  and  cheaper  than  ever  be- 
fore. A  cement  floor  properly  laid  down 
is  there  for  all  time  and  cement  walls 
harden  with  age  until  they  become  better 
than  stone. 

In  building,  by  all  means,  secure  the 
services  of  the  best  mechanics  within 
reach.  Their  wages  are  a  little  higher  but 
they  seldom  spoil  material  and  the  job  is 
almost  always  more  satisfactory  in  the 
end. 

Judgment  is  necessary  in  buying  mater- 


ials; generally  speaking  the  best  is  the 
cheapest,  but  it  often  happens  that  a  good 
second  grade  answers  the  purpose  just  as 
well  while  afifecting  considerable  saving 
in  cash. 

Farmers  may  save  a  great  deal  by  get- 
ting ready  weeks,  or  months,  before  build- 
ing. Putting  up  even  a  small  building 
runs  into  a  great  deal  of  work.  Often  the 
time  required  is  more  than  twice  as  much 
as  the  estimates.  By  having  everything 
on  the  ground  confusion  is  avoided  as  well 
as  the  unnecessary  expense  of  getting 
things  together  in  a  great  hurry,  often  at 
an  inconvenient  season. 

WILLIAM  A.  RADFORD, 
Chicago,  111. 


RADFORD'S   PRACTICAL    BARN    PLANS 


Small  Barn  with  Cement  Floor — A 1 1 2 

if  so  desired,  three  or  four  inches  thick, 
made  of  good  stiff  clay  wet  down  and 
tamped  level  over  the  cement.  Some  horse- 
men prefer  a  cement  bottom  with  a  foot 


This  barn  is  twenty-two  feet  wide  by 
thirty-four  feet  long  and  has  a  cement 
floor  cushioned  with  cinders  the  whole 
size  of  the  building,  but  the  standing  stalls 
have  a  plank  floor  running  lengthwise  of 
the  stall  over  the  cement.     These  planks 


West   Epid 

are  not  fastened  except  to  two  cross  pieces 
— one  under  the  manger  is  a  two  by  four 
laid  under  the  plank  to  give  them  the 
proper  pitch.  Another  cross  piece  an  inch 
thick  is  placed  in  the  middle  to  strengthen 


the  plank,  back  of  this  the  planks  have 
free  ends  which  facilitate  drainage  back  to 
the  gutter  and  makes  it  easy  to  remove  the 
floor  if  the  planks  should  split  or  wear  out. 
The  box  stall  may  have  an  earth  floor. 


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or  two  of  straw ;  either  way  is  good  enough 
if  the  horses  have  the  right  kind  of  care. 

The  oat  bin  is  in  the  hay  loft  and  the 
corn  bin  may  be  put  there  too  if  the  space 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


on  the  carriage  room  floor  is  needed.  By 
having  tlie  feed  overliead  and  chutes  for 
the  different  kinds  of  feed  to  the  floor  be- 
low, feeding  is  made  easy. 

Sliding  doors  usually  are  preferred  for 
a  horse  barn,  and  a  half  door  for  ventila- 
tion is  a  good  thing.  A  horse  will  stand 
for  hours  with  his  head  out  of  such  a  door 
with  evident  satisfaction. 


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Open  Front  Poultry  House — A  no 


The  modification  of  the  popular  open 
front  poultry  house  is  given  in  this  plan. 
It  is  suitable  for  two  lots  of  hens  of  forty 
or  fifty  each,  according  to  the  size  of  the 


struction  of  this  house.  Sills  are  four  by 
six  inches,  and  two  by  fours  are  used  for 
rafters.  Common  lumber  is  used  for 
boarding,  which  is  covered  on  the  outside 


a  n 


breed.  The  house  is  forty  feet  long  and 
ten  feet  wide,  divided  into  two  compart- 
ments. Each  compartment  has  a  warm 
room  and  a  scratching  shed  which  is  open 
to  the  south.     This  makes  each  room  ten 


with  building  paper  and  the  building  paper 
is  covered  with  thin  matched  sheathing. 
For  the  roof  common  sheathing  boards 
are  laid  close  together  and  covered  with 
tarred  paper  and  the  paper  covered  with 


feci  square  with  a  roof  eight  feet  high  in 
front  and  four  feet  at  the  back.  No  room 
is  taken  up  in  hallways  or  passageways 
but  the  doors  entering  the  warm  rooms 
open  from  the  scratching  sheds. 

Very  light  material  is  used  in  the  con- 


shingles.    This  makes  a  warm  roof  which 
is  very  essential  in  a  poultry  house. 

Each  of  the  closed  pens  has  a  window 
that  reaches  down  to  the  sill.  This  win- 
dow is  wide  enough  and  high  enough  to 
let  in  a  great  deal  of  sunshine,  and  this  is 


BARN      PLANS 


what  the  chickens  need  in  winter.  All  in- 
side surfaces  are  dressed  to  prevent  lodge- 
ment of  dust  and  hiding  places  for  vermin. 
The  whole  bottom  of  the  building  is  filled 
in  several  inches  deep  with  grout  mortar. 
In  the  warm  rooms  the  floor  joists  are  em- 


bedded in  the  soft  mortar  and  a  matched 
floor  laid  on.  A  floor  like  this  is  dry  and 
easily  cleaned  and  it  is  impossible  for  rats 
to  work  their  way  up  through  it.  There  is 
no  wooden  floor  in  the  scratching  sheds. 
The  grout  filling  is  supposed  to  be  covered 
with  straw  a  foot  or  so  in  depth.  The  hens 
will  work  in  this  straw  even  in  the  coldest 


days,  but  of  course  it  is  a  good  plan  to  have 
a  liberal  supply  of  straw  in  the  warm  room 
for  amusement  night  and  morning. 

For  nest  boxes  the  arrangement  given 
in  this  plan  is  very  satisfactory.  It  shows 
a  roosting  platform  with  a  row  of  nests 
underneath.  For  leghorns  or  similar  fowls 
twelve  inches  square  and  seven  or  eight 
inches  high  is  large  enough  for  the  nest 
boxes,  but  for  brahmas  or  cochins  two  or 
three  inches  larger  each  \vay  are  much 
better.  To  facilitate  cleaning  the  drop- 
ping board  and  nest  boxes  lift  oflf  from  the 
lower  platform.  The  lower  platform  is 
hinged  and  may  be  dropped  down  or  un- 
hooked and  the  whole  thing  carried  out- 
doors. It  is  very  important  to  have  roost- 
ing poles,  dropping  board  and  nest  boxes 
loose.  A  great  deal  of  trouble  has  come 
from  vermin  getting  into  these  places 
without  having  facilities  to  eradicate  them 
easily. 

Hens  seldom  form  the  egg  eating  habit 
if  the  nests  are  dark.  This  is  why  the 
boxes  open  from  the  back  under  cover. 
The  dropping  board  is  not  fastened  to  the 
nest  boxes  in  any  way.  When  gathering 
the  eggs  it  may  be  lifted  easily. 


Convenient  Horse  Barn — A133 


Men  who  keep  good  horses  will  appre- 
ciate this  plan.  The  arrangement  of  the 
€talls  is  convenient  and  there  is  a  good 
carriage  room  in  which  to  keep  vehicles 
away  from  the  stable  part  and  out  of  the 
dust.  Every  farmer  who  takes  pride  in 
his  horses  likes  to  have  a  nice  rig  to  drive, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  have  it  without  con- 
veniences for  keeping  it  clean.  With  a 
good  carriage  room  and  a  good  harness 
room  there  is  no  excuse  for  dirty  buggies 
or  an  unsightly  harness. 

A  feature  of  this  barn  that  should  at 


tract  especial  attention  is  the  tool  room. 
It  is  nine  by  ten  feet  in  a  front  corner  of 


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RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


the  building  with  two  good  windows  for     is  placed  right  because  it  may  be  shut  off 
light.    There  is  a  general  work  bench  with     with  two  doors  from  the  stable  part,  still 


a  vise  on  one  end  and  there  are  boxes  to  it  is  not  so  far  away  as  to  make  feeding 

hold  tools  and  supplies  on  the  dark  side  of  inconvenient. 

the    room.     The    granary    will    be    large         There  is  room  overhead  for  a  good  deal 

enough    or    not    according    to    the    other  of  hav  and  straw.     The  hav  carrier  will 


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buildings  on  the  farm.     Where  there  is  a  bring  the  stuff  from  the  back  end  pretty 

large  grain  barn  for  threshing  a  smaller  well  through  to  the  front, 

granary  in  the  horse  barn  seems  to  answer  It  would  probably  be  advisable  to  put  a 

every  purpose.     The  granary  in  this  plan  cement   floor   in    this   building 


BARN      PLANS 


Plan  of  an  Ice  House — A 1 1 8 


An  ice  house  with  a  cold  storage  room 
is  shown  in  plan  (A118).  The  walls  are 
built  hollow  with  paper  inside  and  out. 

In  the   cold  storage  department   there 


For  this  reason  a  ventilator  is  built  in  the 
roof  to  encourage  a  circulation  of  air  be- 
tween the  upper  ceiling  and  the  shingles. 
In  this  arrangement  the  cold  storage  de- 


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are  several  thicknesses  of  paper  in  the  in- 
ner wall  to  make  the  dead  air  space  as 
tight  as  possible.  If  you  have  ever  under- 
taken to  make  an  absolutely  dead  air  space 
vou  understand  the  difficultv,  or  the  im- 


partment  is  supplied  with  ice  as  needed 
by  putting  in  a  quantity,  say  once  a  week. 
The  construction  of  an  ice  house  like 
this  requires  good  workmanship.  You 
will  need  the  best  mechanic  in  the  neigh- 


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possibility  of  doing  it.  There  is  sure  to 
be  a  crack  somewhere  to  let  the  air 
through,  but  this  plan  probably  comes  as 
near  to  it  as  is  necessary. 

When  an  ice  house  is  made  as  tight  as 
this  it  is  necessary  to  let  the  top  air  out. 


borhood  and  it  will  pay  to  read  up  on  cold 
storage  before  you  start  in.  If  it  is  made 
just  right  it  will  be  a  great  comfort  and 
satisfaction,  but  if  it  is  not  made  right  it 
will  cause  a  great  deal  of  trouble  and  be  a 
continuous  annovance. 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


Housing  of  Dairy  Cows — Aioo 

The  careful  housing  of  dairy  cows  is  re-     milk  until  he  satisfies  the  inspector  that 


ceiving  careful,  systematic  consideration 
as  never  before.  Investigations  have  been 
conducted  by  men  who  are  thoroughly 
conversant  with  the  subject  from  a  prac- 


he  has  mended  his  ways.  This  course  was 
made  necessary  by  the  rapidly  increasing 
volume  of  business  which  is  conducted  by 
such  a  cosmopolitan  class  of  people;  com- 


tical  as  well  as  scientific  standpoint.  prising  as  it  does,  all  grades  of  producers 

Government  milk  inspectors,  backed  by  from  the  most  progressive  farmer  down 

public  opinion,   have  established   a   thor-  the  line  of  small  dairymen  to  the  ignorant 

ough  system  of  inspection.   City  milk  sup-  huckster.     Cleanliness  is  required  by  in- 

ply  is  now  traced  to  its  source,  the  cows  spectors  first,  last  and  all  the  time;  thus. 


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examined    thoroughly   for   condition   and  making   the    right    start,   for   cleanliness, 

liealth  and  the  stable  for  cleanliness.     If  leads  to  many  virtues.    A  man  who  is  par- 

incompetency  or  indiflference  has  led  the  ticular    about    all    utensils,    his    wagon, 

dairyman  to  disobey  the  state  sanitary  re-  stable,  cattle  and  himself,  will  not  tolerate 

quirements  he  is  not  permitted  to  ship  his  a  poor  stable  or  an  unhcalthv  cow\     He 


BARN      PLANS 


may  not  understand  the  science  of  fer- 
ments or  disease  germs,  but  his  milk  sup- 
ply will  be  good  and  wholesome,  because 
he  robs  harmful  bacteria  of  the  dirt  upon 
which  they  thrive. 

In  our  northern  climate,  warmer  stables 
have  for  years  occupied  the  attention  of 


ability  to  grow  or  fatten.  Too  frequently 
cattle  thus  housed  were  attacked  by  bov- 
ine disease  germs,  which  were  materially 
assisted  in  their  work  of  destruction  by 
conditions  so  expensively  though  uninten- 
tionally provided.  Stockmen  thought  the 
trouble  was  caused  bv  too  great  a  change 


C/fO-53 

our  best  farmers  and  stockmen.  Bank 
barns  were  the  outgrowth  of  a  desire  to 
provide  comfortable  stables  that  were  both 
warmer  and  better.  The  convenience  of 
having  all  stock  under  one  roof,  tucked 
carefully  away  from  the  cold,  with  plenty 
of  feed  overhead  ready  at  all  times  to  find 
its  way  to  mangers  and  food  racks  by 
gravity,  proved  very  alluring  to  ambitious 
farmers  all  over  the  country.  But  animals 
housed  in  these  expensive  dungeons  were 
not  happy  and  showed  their  discomfiture 
in  watery  eyes,  lusterless  hair,  hot  noses 
and  hot,  feverish  breath,  with  fretful  quar- 
relsome  actions   together   with   their   in- 


in  temperature  by  allowing  the  cattle  to 
go  out  for  an  airing  or  for  water  each  day; 
to  remedy  this,  water  buckets  were  added 
to  the  stable  outfit  and  the  stock  confined 
in  an  abominable  atmosphere  for  weeks  at 
a  time. 

Atmospheric  conditions  afifect  animals 
dififerently.  The  heavy  br<^eds  of  beef  cat- 
tle are  usually  phlegmatic  in  disposition, 
paying  little  attention  to  ordinary  disturb- 
ances; these  sufifered  less  in  consequence, 
though  it  was  noticed  that  they  did  not 
benefit  from  the  quantity  and  quality  of 
feed  as  they  should.  Milch  cows  of  a 
highly  nervous  organization  are  more  sus- 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


ceptible  to  incipient  diseases  caused  by  ob- 
jectionable surroundings  than  any  other 
domestic  animal.  Not  until  progressive 
scientific  men  spent  much  time  and  money 
in  investigations  and  experiments  was  the 
trouble  traced  to  its  true  source. 

Analyzing  stable  atmosphere  led  to  the 
detection  of  harmful  bacteria  in  incredu- 


lous numbers.  Scientists  engaged  in  the 
work  were  slow  to  give  out  the  result  of 
their  first  investigations,  thinking  that  the 
conditions  under  which  they  were  working 
might  be  abnormal.  Prospecting  further 
and  while  endeavoring  to  learn  the  cause 
they  found  the  conditions  in  these  cellar 
stables  particularly  favorable  to  the  pro- 
pagation of  stockmen's  worst  enemy. 
Harmful  bacteria  delight  in  a  dusty  atmos- 
phere, especially  when  it  is  impregnated 
with  moisture;  when  a  share  of  the  damp- 
ness comes  from  the  moisture  laden  breath 
of  animals  that  are  obliged  to  breathe  the 


same  air  over  and  over  again,  bacteria  con- 
ditions are  complete. 

Bank  barns  are  always  damp  and  always 
dusty;  owing  to  their  construction  they 
never  admit  sunlight  in  quantities  suffi- 
cient to  be  of  use.  Sunlight  is  destructive 
to  all  forms  of  harmful  bacteria ;  therefore 
a  stable  should  admit  the  direct  rays  of 
the  sun  to  every  stall  if  possible. 

An  eastern  model  dairy  stable  combin- 
ing all  good  qualities  while  eliminating  ob- 
jectionable features  is  shown  in  the  accom- 
panying plans.  This  stable  may  be  built 
at  a  low  cost,  is  warm  in  winter,  cool  in 
summer,  and  sanitary  and  hygienic  at  all 
times. 

Location 

The  proper  location  for  a  dairy  stable 
is  the  first  consideration.  Good  air,  good 
drainage,  plenty  of  sunlight  and  an  abun- 
dant water  supply  are  all  essential  feat- 
ures. Fresh  air  and  drainage  may  be  se- 
cured by  selecting  an  elevation ;  protection 
from  cold  winds  by  means  of  a  tree  belt  or 
a  high  tight  board  fence.  Sufficient  water 
mav  be  obtained  in  most  any  situation  by 
a  powerful  windmill.  There  are  other  con- 
siderations such  as  convenience  to  the  pas- 
ture fields  and  a  short  haul  from  the  fields 
pasture,  however,  receives  less  considera- 
tion than  it  did  a  few  years  ago.  North 
in  which  soiling  crops  are  grown.  The 
of  parallel  42  there  is  an  average  of  only 
six  weeks  of  good  pasture.  Summer 
draughts  sandwiched  in  between  late 
spring  and  early  fall  frosts  are  responsible 
for  this  condition,  so  that  a  good  many 
farmers  in  the  east  depend  upon  soiling 
crops  a  great  deal  more  than  they  do  on 
pasture.  A  runway  consisting  of  at  least 
a  quarter  of  an  acre  for  each  cow  is  neces- 
sary, but  the  fields  may  be  more  profitably 
employed  in  raising  cultivated  crops.  The 
question  of  drainage  is  a  very  important 


BARN      PLANS 


13 


one.  If  the  soil  is  naturally  dry  and  slopes 
sufficient  to  carry  off  rain  water  no  elab- 
orate system  of  tiling  will  be  necessary, 
but  if  there  is  any  doubt  it  is  better  to  be 
on  the  safe  side. 

Grading 

In  laying  out  a  stable  a  great  deal  of 
after  work  may  be  saved  by  a  careful  sur- 
vey of  the  grade.  Manure  should  be  re- 
moved from  a  dairy  stable  promptly  every 
day  and  carted  at  once  to  the  fields.  By 
the  use  of  a  manure  carrier  and  a  spreader 


j-i 


r'-f 


r/.£:f'/9r/OA/     or    3r/7iL^s 


this  way  of  managing  is  cheaper  as  well 
as  better  than  the  old  fashioned  way  of 
piling  in  manure  to  be  hauled  away  at 
some  future  time.  In  making  the  grade 
the  stable  floor  may  be  placed  high  enough 
to  run  the  manure  carrier  directly  out  over 
the  spreader.  Calculation  must  also  be 
made  for  carrying  off  the  water  used  in 
flushing  the  gutters  and  in  washing  the 
dairy  utensils.  The  intake  for  ventilation 
is  another  consideration  before  commenc- 
ing work.  In  order  to  lay  out  the  ground 
right  a  general  working  drawing  giving 
the  floor  plan  and  profile  is  necessary.  Any 
one  can  work  to  such  a  plan  by  having  a 
few  simple  instruments.  An  A  level  and 
a  few  stakes  of  different  lengths  comprises 
about  all  the  tools  necessary. 

Excavation 

The  excavation  for  the  walls  may  be  just 
deep  enough  to  go  below  frost.     For  con- 


crete or  cement  walls  make  the  trench  just 
the  width  necessary  to  hold  the  wall  ma- 
terial but  after  the  trench  is  done  make  a 
rounded  recess  all  around  the  edge  near 
the  bottom  to  hold  a  course  of  three  inch 
tile.  This  answers  the  double  purpose  of 
carrying  off  surplus  water  and  preventing 
rats  from  undermining  the  wall.  Rats  will 
dig  down  at  the  side  of  the  wall  until  they 
come  to  an  obstruction,  they  will  follow 
the  obstruction  along  close  to  the  wall  but 
never  think  of  digging  outward  to  get 
around  it.  The  ends  of  the  tile  should  ter- 
minate in  the  main  drain  just  below  the 
trap. 

Walls 

In  some  parts  of  the  country  stone  is 
plentiful  and  farmers  prefer  to  lay  up  a 
stone  wall  but  generally  speaking  a  con- 
crete wall  is  cheaper  and  better.  The  ma- 
terials may  be  put  together  on  the  ground 
and  dumped  into  the  trenches  with  im- 
skilled  labor.  It  is  only  necessary  to  look 
carefully  to  the  leveling  and  finishing  of 
the  job.  For  this  purpose  a  two  inch  plank 
staked  carefully  in  position  with  the  edges 
even  with  the  top  of  the  wall  forms  a  guide 
both  for  leveling  and  for  thickness.  Open- 
ings in  the  plank  may  be  left  for  doorways 
and  boxes  built  around  the  size  and  shape 
to  properly  hold  cement  sills  so  that  when 
the  wall  is  finished  the  door  sills  will  be 
complete  and  the  whole  thing  will  be  in 
one  piece. 

The  Floor 

After  the  walls  are  finished  the  grading 
for  the  floor  comes  next  in  order.  The  pro- 
file shows  the  relative  position  of  the  in- 
take for  fresh  air,  the  floor  of  the  feeding 
alley,  position  of  the  cement  mangers,  in- 
clines of  the  floor  in  which  the  cattle  stand, 
the  gutter  and  the  walk  behind  the  cows. 
Besides  the  cross  section  the  mangers  and 
gutters  incline  with  the  length  of  the  sta- 


14 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


ble.  In  order  to  locate  all  these  points  a 
good  many  grade  stakes  are  necessary. 
They  are  set  carefully  to  measurement  and 
driven  down  until  the  tops  come  right  for 
the  grade.  It  is  easier  to  do  this  work  be- 
fore the  building  is  erected.  One  point  to 
be  remembered  is  that  the  wall  should  not 
extend  much  above  the  floor  for  the  reason 
that  dampness  will  collect  on  the  inner 
side  or  warmer  side  of  the  wall  especially 
in  winter.  Also  the  iron  pipes  designed 
to  partition  the  stalls  and  support  the  ceil- 
ing should  be  imbedded  in  cement  when 
it  is  fresh. 

Superstructure 

It  is  cheaper  to  build  barns  and  stables 
low  because  lighter  material  may  be  used 
in  their  construction.  A  dairy  stable  should 
have  a  low  ceiling  to  facilitate  ventilation. 
Seven  feet  is  high  enough  for  a  ceiling  bttt 
eight  feet  looks  better  if  the  stable  is  long 
and  where  there  are  a  good  many  cows  to- 
gether there  is  no  objection  to  an  eight 
foot  ceiling.  A  good  deal  depends  on  the 
number  of  cows  kept.  A  stable  may  be 
built  on  this  plan  to  hold  twenty-four  cows 
or  it  may  be  made  long  enough  to  hold  one 
hundred.  The  principle  of  ventilation  de- 
pends on  the  circulation  of  air.  Warm  air 
is  lighter  than  cold  air  and  it  naturally 
goes  up.  In  order  to  ventilate  a  stable  we 
must  get  animals  enough  into  it  to  warm 
the  air.  There  is  little  or  no  circulation  in 
a  cold  room.  For  the  ventilation  to  work 
right  the  temperature  in  a  stable  should 
not  go  below  55  degrees.  This  plan  takes 
the  air  in  at  the  center  in  front  of  the  cows 
where  the  cows  may  breathe  the  clean 
fresh  air  from  outside  before  it  becomes 
contaminated.  The  hot  breath  of  the  cows 
goes  to  the  ceiling,  spreads  in  all  directions 
to  the  sides  of  the  room  while  it  loads  up 
with  impurities  and  finally  settles  to  the 


floor  at  the  sides  of  the  stable  where  it  is 
drawn  ofif  by  the  ventilators  and  sent  out 
through  the  roof.  In  order  for  the  ventilat- 
ing system  to  work  right  the  stable  must 
be  practically  air  tight  around  the  sides 
and  ceiling  and  the  doors  must  fit  well. 
There  is  a  light  sill  six  by  six  bedded  in 
fresh  cement  mortar  on  top  of  the  walls, 
two  by  six  studding  seven  feet  long  toe- 
nailed into  the  sill  and  a  two  by  six  plate 
spiked  on  top  of  the  studding.  Building 
paper  is  nailed  to  the  studding  both  inside 
and  out.  The  inside  is  lined  with  matched 
ceiling  without  bead.  This  is  to  eliminate 
all  cracks  and  joints  as  far  as  possible. 
There  are  no  cracks  and  places  for  dust  to 
lodge  and  all  stable  dust  is  bacteria  laden. 
In  like  manner  building  paper  is  tacked  to 
the  ceiling  joists  and  under  the  paper  a 
light  matched  ceiling  is  nailed  so  that  the 
whole  room  is  smooth  around  and  there 
are  no  projections  or  shelves  of  any  kind 
to  hold  dust.  The  stall  partitions  are  as 
light  as  possible  for  the  same  reason.  Door 
and  window  frames  are  made  flush  on  the 
inside  and  just  a  light  four  inch  casing 
turned  to  cover  the  joint.  It  is  better  to 
use  a  great  deal  of  care  in  laying  the  build- 
ing paper  around  all  such  places  to  prevent 
air  openings.  It  is  not  intended  to  use  the 
loft  over  this  stable  for  storage  or  any  pur- 
pose but  it  is  better  to  build  the  loft  so 
that  it  may  be  swept  occasionally  to  clear 
out  the  dust.  A  window  is  placed  in  each 
gable  for  the  purpose  of  causing  suflicient 
ventilation  to  keep  the  loft  cool.  The  out- 
side of  the  stable  is  boarded  up  with  pat- 
ent siding  and  a  light  box  cornice  makes 
the  finish  at  the  eaves.  The  ventilating 
system  is  shown  in  the  cuts.  It  pays  to 
put  on  an  eave  trough  whether  the  water 
is  wanted  for  use  or  not  because  the  drip 
from  the  eaves  will  cause  dampness  and 
this  should  be  avoided.  Because  the  build-' 


BARN      PLANS 


15 


ing  is  low  a  light  roof  is  sufficient.  Two 
by  four  rafters  are  heavy  enough  if  well 
supported  by  cross  collar  beams. 

The  Silo 

In  this  plan  the  silos  are  p'aced  at  the 
end  of  the  stable.  If  the  stable  is  long  how- 
ever it  is  better  to  put  the  silo  in  the  mid- 
dle. It  will  save  steps  at  feeding  time.  It 
is  better  to  have  two  small  silos  than  one 
large  one.  From  twelve  to  sixteen  feet 
in  diameter  is  big  enough  for  any  silo. The 
surface  may  then  be  fed  ofif  every  day  and 
the  silage  kept  fresh  at  all  times.  The  milk 
room  is  at  the  side  of  the  silo.  The  floor 
and  sides  are  built  entirelv  of  cement  and 
the  room  has  a  light  matched  ceiling.  It 
is  provided  with  an  open  drain  that  con- 
nects with  the  main  drain  outside  of  the 
building.  The  milk  room  contains  a  sep- 
arator, scales,  Babcock  tester  and  a  shelf 
to  hold  the  smaller  utensil?  and  a  porcelain 
lined  sink  for  washing  dishes.  Outside  of 
the  milk  room  is  a  rack  to  hold  the  cans 
where  they  are  turned  up  side  down  every 
morning  in  the  sun.  Beyond  the  silos  and 
milk  room  is  the  barn  where  the  roughage 
is  kept  and  the  track  from  the  stable  runs 
across  so  the  feed  may  be  brought  by  an 
overhead  track  carrier.  The  silos  are  at 
the  north  end  of  the  building.  The  manure 
is  taken  out  through  the  south  doors.  The 
cows  are  also  let  in  and  out  of  the  south 
doors.  This  style  of  stable  should  be  built 
north  and  south  so  that  the  sun  will  shine 
in  at  all  of  the  windows. 

Silo  Construction 

The  cheapes.t  form  of  a  silo  is  the  round 
stave  construction.  It  is  about  as  good 
as  any,  too,  when  it  is  thoroughly  well 
built  from  well  seasoned  lumber;  in  fact, 
it  has  been  thoroughly  demonstrated  that 
the  stave  silo  is  a  success.  In  New  Jersey 
and  Eastern  Pennsvlvania   the  stave  silo 


is  almost  universally  used.  They  do  not 
last  as  long  as  some  others.  Probably  the 
average  life  of  a  stave  silo  is  somewhere 
between  five  and  ten  years.  But  a  farmer 
can  tear  down  and  rebuild  because  the  ma- 
terial is  comparatively  cheap  and  there  is 
not  much  of  it.  In  some  parts  of  the  coun- 
try there  is  a  prejudice  against  this  form 
of  silo.  Some  claim  that  the  silage  is  not 
so  good,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  sub- 
stantiate this  claim.  Of  course,  to  keep 
silage  properly  in  any  kind  of  a  silo  it  must 
be  air  tight.  If  a  stave  silo  leaks  at  the 
joints  the  silage  will  sufifer,  but  the  same 
may  be  said  of  any  make  of  silo. 

Some  of  this  prejudice  comes  from  the 
dairy  farmers  who  formerly  had  exper- 
ience with  stave  silos  which  are  construc- 
ted by  putting  rough  planks  together  with- 
out beveling  the  edges,  but  the  way  staves 
are  made  now  with  bevels  carefully  cut  to 
fit  the  circle  and  provided  with  heavy  iron 
hoops,  and  plenty  of  them,  there  is  prob- 
ably no  better  construction.  Some  stave 
silos  have  round  tongues  and  grooves. 
This  is  better  than  a  plain  straight  bevel, 
but  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary.  The 
ends  of  the  staves  where  they  butt  to- 
gether are  fitted  with  an  iron  tongue  let 
into  a  saw  cut  in  each  end  of  the  abutting 
staves. 

A  convenient  height  for  a  silo  of  this 
kind  is  thirty-two  feet  made  from  sixteen 
foot  stuflf,  but  some  staves  must  be  eight 
feet  long  in  order  to  break  joints.  Most 
stave  silos  erected  are  bought  from  some 
manufacturer  who  has  a  patent  on  some 
little  contrivance  in  connection  with  their 
manufacture,  but  any  fa'-mer  can  order 
the  material  and  build  his  own  silo  if  he 
wishes  to  do  so.  The  mills  will  cut  and 
bevel  the  staves  and  tongue  and  groove 
them  to  fit  any  circle  desired,  but  it  is 
necessarv  to  understand  all  the  little  de- 


i6 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


tails  and  see  that  they  are  properly  worked 
out.  A  good  many  of  the  patent  silos  have 
an  iron  framework  to  hold  the  doors.  This 
is  an  advantage  inasmuch  as  wood  gets 
damp  and  swells,  but  any  carpenter  can 
bolt  two  timbers  together  in  such  a  way 
as  to  make  a  good  framework  to  hold  the 
doors,  and  the  saving  in  expense  is  con- 
siderable.    The  doors  mav  be  made  loose 


and  calked  around  the  edges  with  tow  or 
the  soft  parts  of  corn  stalks  makes  very 
good  calking  material.  In  fact,  there  are 
a  great  many  different  ways  to  manage 
if  a  person  is  determined  to  have  a  silo, 
but  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the  doors 
are  a  particular  part.  The  framework 
must  be  solid  and  there  must  be  ample 
space  between  the  doors  for  the  hoops. 


Horse  and  Cattle  Barn — An^ 

A  medium  sized  barn  to  accommodate  fifteen  feet  wide,  is  left  for  general  pur- 
eight  cows  and  six  horses  is  given  in  plan  poses.  It  answers  for  a  feed  room,  storage 
(A115).  The  size  on  the  ground  is  thirty  for  a  wagon  or  two  and  general  barn  pur- 
two  by  forty-four,  which  is  not  very  large  poses.    The  second  floor  covers  the  whole 


^/-/F7-£r   r>7- 


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y-cJi/c 


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for  a  farm  barn,  but  it  is  not  intended  to  building  with  a  couple  of  hay  chutes  to  let 

be  a  large  one.    The  first  floor  is  divided  down  feed  and  straw  to  the  horses  and  cat- 

into  three  parts;  the  horses  occupy  one,  tie.     It  hardly  pays  to  work  a  horse  fork 

the  cows  another  and  the  middle  section,  in  a  barn  of  this  size.    The  stuff  may  be 


BARN      PLANS 


17 


cT 


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RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


put  in  by  hand  from  the  outside  through 
doors  that  open  down  to  the  floor.  There 
is  no  waste  space  in  this  plan,  every  foot 
is  made  use  of  to  the  best  advantage,  and 
the  barn  will  be  found  very  useful  on  farms 
where  a  small  number  of  cows  and  about 
the  usual  number  of  horses  are  kept.  The 
plans  show  the  construction  in  detail.  It 
may  be  boarded  up  and  down  or  covered 
with  siding.     May  be  made  any  length. 

A  good  feature  about  this  barn  is  that  it 
can  be  added  to  without  interfering  with 
the  general  arrangement  in  any  way. 


An  A-shaped  Poultry  House — A152 


An  A  shaped  poultry  house  is  given  in 
plan  (A152).  This  is  the  cheapest  way  to 
build  a  poultry  house.  You  don't  have  to 
build  a  roof  or  if  you  build  a  roof  you 
don't  have  to  build  sides.  You  can  do 
either  way  you  choose. 

It  is  divided  lengthwise  with  a  curtain 


pole  and  made  flush  on  the  curtain  side. 
You  attach  the  roller  to  the  ridge  pole  so 
the  curtain  rolls  up  on  the  inside  of  the 
roller  which  brings  it  close  to  the  wood- 
work. 

The  house  shown  in  the  plan  is  eight 
feet  wide  and  sixteen  feet  long.     One  end 


30/7/=fO       (//=>   /fA/O     OOh  W 


3£CTJO/V 


^/0£    CL  £  1^/7 r/OA/ 


partition.  This  curtain  is  in  four  foot  sec- 
tions and  it  rolls  up  on  heavy  window 
shade  rollers,  so  that  it  may  be  pulled 
down  cold  nights  to  make  a  warm  roosting 
place.  The  material  of  the  curtain  is  cheap 
cotton  costing  three  or  four  cents  per  yard. 
The  sections  are  divided  by  two  by  four 
posts  reaching  from  the  floor  to  the  ridge 


of  this  building  is  supposed  to  front  the 
south.  There  is  a  small  door  in  this  end 
for  the  chickens  to  go  in  and  out  and  the 
window  is  as  big  as  possible.  The  entrance 
door  is  at  the  side  and  it  should  be  near  the 
south  end.  It  is  a  bad  plan  to  have  doors, 
windows  or  any  openings  in  the  north  end 
or  north  side  of  a  poultry  house. 


BARN      PLANS 


19 


A  Dairy  Bank  Barn — A125 

An  old  fashioned  dairy  barn  is  shown  One  good  feature  about  this  stable  is 

in  plan  (A125).     There  are  a  good  many  the  ventilation.    To  have  good  air  in  a  cow 

such  barns  still  in  use  in  Wisconsin.  Those  stable  it  is  absolutely  necessar}'^  to  have  a 

using  them  say  they  are  satisfactory  under  system  of  ventilation.    You  can  stable  four 

certain  conditions.  or    five    cows    together    and    depend    on 


£:nd  ^^ct/o/v 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


BARN      PLANS 


21 


chance  openings  to  provide  them  with  oxy- 
gen, but  you  cannot  depend  on  Providence 
to  keep  your  cattle  alive  in  a  large  stable 
unless  you  assist  a  little  bit. 

A  good  many  dairy  men  prefer  to  have 


the  cows  face  outward.  This  is  a  matter 
of  individual  preference.  Probably  nine 
stables  out  of  ten  are  made  to  face  the 
cows  in,  but  this  is  no  dead  open  and  shut 
reason  why  this  stable  should  be  built  that 
way.  One  advantage  of  having  the  two 
manure  gutters  in  the  middle  is  that  a  cart 
may  be  driven  through  to  remove  the  ma- 
nure. If  there  is  any  other  good  reason 
I  am  not  familiar  with  it.  In  these  Wis- 
consin stables  the  old  fashioned  stanchions 
are  used. 

There  is  a  large  amount  of  storage  over- 
head in  a  barn  like  this,  and  it  is  a  conven- 
ient barn  to  do  the  work  in  except  in  the 
matter  of  feeding  the  cows.  It  takes  more 
steps  to  get  around  to  feed  the  cows  when 
they  face  out.  This  barn  is  backed  up  to 
a  bank,  preferably  on  the  north  side,  where 
the  incline  may  be  had  easily  to  drive  in 
on  the  main  floor.  The  horse  fork  is 
worked  from  the  center. 


A  Round  Corn  Crib— A 142 


So  far  as  the  size  is  concerned  there  is 
more  room  in  a  round  corn  crib  than  in 
any  other  shape  made  with  the  same 
amount  of  material.  The  building  is  eas- 
ily constructed  because  it  is  all  plain 
straight  work  and  it  is  rat  proof  because 
it  is  set  up  two  feet  from  the  ground  on 
cement  posts. 

The  posts  are  made  by  digging  holes  in 
the  ground  three  and  one-half  feet  deep 
.and  about  eight  inches  in  diameter. 
Lengths  of  eight  inch  pipe  made  of  galvan- 
ized iron  are  used  to  carry  the  cement  two 
feet  above  the  ground.  Before  commenc- 
ing it  is  necessary  to  strike  a  common  level 
at  the  surface  of  the  ground  so  that  when 
the  pipes  are  all  set  up  the  tops  of  them 
will  be  the  same  height.  The  post  above 
the    ground    and    the    post    underground 


should  all  be  made  at  the  same  time  so 
that  the  cement  will  unite  into  one  solid 
post. 


III  II  III 

\s}:cr/o/v  ---  £L£K/9t/oaj 

Of- 

/fO(/A/a    CO/TA/    C/f/S 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


The  floor  plan  shows  the  way  the  joists 
are  laid  and  the  circles  represent  the  girts 
to  which  the  1x4  upright  pieces  are  nailed. 
As  the  crib  is  sixteen  feet  in  diameter  it 


is  necessary  to  have  a  ventilator  in  the 
middle.  Ordinarily  it  is  not  advisable  to 
have  a  body  of  corn  more  than  six  or  seven 
feet  in  diameter.  By  making  the  inner 
circle  three  feet  we  have  six  and  one  half 
feet  between  the  inner  strips  and  the  outer 
strips  and  as  there  is  no  floor  over  the 
joists  in  the  center  the  air  can  pass  up 
through  the  three  foot  ventilator  easily. 

The  round  girts  may  be  made  in  two 
ways,  either  by  using  thin  stuflf  and  nail- 
ing one  layer  upon  the  other,  breaking 
joints,  or  they  may  be  ripped  out  of  two 
inch  planks.  If  ripped  out  of  planks  a 
single  saw-cut  through  each  piece  of  plank 
will  shape  the  sections,  cut  as  shown  in  the 
diagram.  Use  two  inch  plank  ten  inches 
wide  cut  to  four  foot  lengths.  Make  seg- 
ments enough  to  build  up  all  the  girts  nec- 
essary by  ripping  the  short  planks  length- 
wise through  the  middle,  then  rip  again  on 
the  curved  line.  The  finished  girts  are  about 
4x43<4  inches.    There  is  verv  little  waste. 


The  roof  is  supported  by  a  similar  girt  and 
this  upper  girt  or  plate  is  supported  by  ex- 
tending some  of  the  one  by  four  pieces 
above  the  others  as  shown  in  the  drawing. 
These  extension  strips  may  be  doubled 
or  two  by  fours  used  at  these  places.    The 


y-  o- 


£^rr/7/Ls  Of  /foa/v/p  co/ta/  c/^/s 


crib  is  twelve  feet  high  to  the  plate.  An 
air  space  is  left  all  around  and  this  air 
space     is     big    enough     to     shovel     corn 


or 

through.  Of  course  the  corn  is  put  in  at 
the  door  and  at  the  opposite  window  until 
the  crib  is  pretty  well  filled. 

The  roof  itself  is  a  very  simple  affair. 
It  is  supported  by  the  plate  and  the  ven- 


BARN      PLANS 


23 


tilator  shaft.  The  roof  boards  are  12  feet 
long  and  cut  1 1  inches  at  the  wide  end  and 
I  inch  at  the  upper  end  or  narrow  end. 
These  boards  are  nailed  in  place  and  the 
cracks  battened.    The  center  is  easily  filled 


in  with  sheet  of  galvanized  iron  having  a 
cut  reaching  from  one  edge  to  the  center. 
Such  a  roof  if  kept  painted  will  last  a  long 
time.  It  is  very  light,  cheap  and  easily 
made. 


A  Small  Barn  with  Stable — A117 


A  small  barn  with  stable  underneath  is 
shown  in  plan  (A117).  The  barn  is  thirty- 
two  by  thirty-six  feet  and  contains  stab- 
ling for  eleven  horses  with  convenient  feed 
room  in  the  basement. 


The  hay  chute  passes  straight  down 
from  the  loft  to  the  feed  room  below  and 
a  corn  chute  is  built  diagonally  across  un- 
der the  driveway  floor  to  reach  the  feed 
room.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  all  feed 
rooms  should  be  shut  off  from  the  stabling 


/^//7Jr      /^LOCf?       /=^/JfJ 


r^OO/^    fl/iN    Of   HORSC    3T/iBli: 


24 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


part  with  a  good  door.  Most  of  us  have 
had  experiences  with  horses  getting  loose 
at  night  and  eating  more  grain  than  was 
good  for  them.  A  corn  chute  twelve  by 
twelve  inches  inside  may  be  run  on  a  slant 
work  all  right  but  it  wouldn't  do  to  make 
it  much  smaller  than  this. 


The  first  floor  above  the  stable  is  intend- 
ed for  granary  bins  on  one  side  of  the 
driveway  and  a  corn  crib  on  the  other  side. 
Some  means  of  ventilating  the  crib  part 
must  be  devised  which  can  be  done  by 
leaving  a  three  quarter  inch  space  between 
the  drop  siding. 


A  Cheap  Smoke  House — A 149 


It  is  not  necessary  to  do  without  a  smoke 
house  on  a  farm.  A  small  building  that 
will  answer  the  purpose  may  be  had  with 
very  little  outlay.    The  plan  (Ai4g)  shows 


a  little  wooden  smoke  house  eight  by  ten 
feet  with  sides  eight  feet  high.  It  is  big 
enough  to  hold  as  many  hams  and  should- 
ers as  farmers'  families  usually  require 
with  once  filling,  but  it  is  an  easy  matter 
to  fill  the  house  the  second  time  if  you  have 
the  meat. 

This  little  house  requires  no  frame  work 
at  all.  All  you  need  is  a  four  by  four  for 
sills  and  a  two  by  four  for  plates  and  some 
more  two  bv  fours  for  rafters.     You  can 


even  dispense  with  the  rafters,  e.xcept  the 
two  end  pairs,  if  you  want  to  make  a  board 
roof.  It  is  better  however  to  make  a  good 
shingle  roof,  then  you  have  something 
that  will  last  as  long  as  you  want  it.  For 
boarding  you  just  take  sixteen  foot  boards 
and  cut  them  in  two  in  the  middle.  For 
the  front  and  back  use  twelve  foot  lumber 
and  the  waste  pieces  work  in  for  roof 
boards  if  shingles  are  used. 

A   smoke   house  like  this   is   not   tight 
enough  to  keep  the  meat  in  after  being 


T-O 


L 


/=>L/fA/  or FLOOff 


smoked.  It  is  better  to  wrap  it  in  paper, 
then  roll  it  up  in  thin  cotton  and  sew  it 
up.  You  mustn't  leave  a  place  for  a  fly 
to  crawl  in.  You  must  then  hang  the  pack- 


BARN      PLANS 


25 


ages  with  strings,  perfectly  free.     They 
must  not  touch  each  other  and  they  must 


not  touch  anything  else.    They  need  a  cool 
place  but  not  damp. 


A    Granary — A 107 


Farmers  have  more  use  for  granaries 
than  formerly.  There  are  two  reasons  for 
this,  one  is  that  more  stock  is  kept  on  the 
farm  and  it  is  necessary  to  have  grain  the 
year  round,  another  is  that  owing  to  a 
shortage  of  cars  and  speculation  in  grain, 


the  bins  at  threshing  time  and  run  through 
the  fanning  mill  when  taken  to  the  ware- 
house for  sale.  By  rigging  the  mill  care- 
fully a  small  proportion  of  the  largest, 
heaviest  grains  may  be  retained  for  seed 
without  adding  anything  to  the  cost.     A 


/7/ro/^  j/zpz/ya 


ELEVATION    OF    SMALL    GRANARY 


SECTION 


prices  are  not  always  satisfactory  in  the 
fall  and  it  pays  to  hold  grain  to  sell  later. 

Then,  more  attention  is  now  being  paid 
to  seed.  A  grain  house  like  this  with  a 
place  for  scales  and  a  fanning  mill  is  a 
ver)'  valuable  addition  to  any  farm.  The 
different  kinds  of  Sfrain  maA'  be  stored  in 


good  mill  that  will  select  say  one  bushel 
out  of  ten  of  the  kind  of  grain  that  you 
want  to  sow  and  do  it  while  blowing 
the  chaflf  out  of  the  grain  you  are  sell- 
ing without  interfering  with  the  grade  is 
a  valuable  mill,  but  there  are  just  such  fan- 
ning mills  made  and  their  cost  is  little  if 


26 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


any  more  than  the  common  kind  on  the 
market. 

In  this  scale  room  wires  may  be  stretch- 
ed for  hanging  the  empty  bags  when 
not  wanted.  By  sinking  the  scales  in  the 
floor  each  bag  may  be  weighed  as  it  is 


It  is  difficult  to  arrange  a  plan  of  getting 
in  and  out  conveniently  without  a  plat- 
form. The  door  is  too  high  to  step  up  and 
if  you  have  a  kind  of  stair  to  reach  it  you 
might  just  as  well  have  a  good  loading 
platform  as  a  cheap  shaky  affair.    A  grain 


loaded.  This  is  best  done  by  having  a  two- 
wheeled  bag  truck  and  a  counter  weight 
on  the  scale  beam  so  that  the  net  weight 
may  be  written  down  each  time  without 
taking  the  time  to  calculate. 

Great  care  should  be  taken  in  building 
a  granary  to  have  it  rat  proof.  The  wall 
of  course  must  go  below  the  frost  and  it  is 
a  good  plan  to  put  a  three  inch  tile  all 
around  the  bottom  on  the  outside  which 
answers  for  drainage  as  well  as  to  keep  the 
rats  from  burrowing  under  the  wall.  Some 
farmers  object  to  a  platform  in  front  of  the 
door  just  on  account  of  rats,  but  if  the  door 
is  made  heavy  and  made  to  fit  tight  with 
a  bit  of  hoop  iron  at  the  bottom,  rats  will 
not  iret  in  that  wav  if  the  door  is  kent  shut. 


house  should  be  set  up  well  from  the 
ground  for  two  reasons,  it  should  be  the 
height  of  the  wagon  for  easy  loading  and 
unloading  and  it  should  be  high  and  dry 
because  grain  should  be  kept  from  all  un- 
necessary moisture.  There  is  moisture 
enough  in  the  air  in  damp  weather  anyhow 
without  taking  chances  on  moisture  from 
the  ground. 

The  doors  to  the  bins  are  made  of  loose 
boards  dropped  into  grooves  so  that  one 
board  may  be  put  in  or  taken  out  as  re- 
quired. A  little  extra  expense  put  into  the 
quality  of  the  flooring  is  money  well  laid- 
out.  The  floor  should  be  free  from  shake 
and  fairly  free  from  knots,  at  least  there 
should  ho  no  black  knots. 


BARN      PLANS 


27 


A  Balloon  Roofed   Barn — ^143 


A  good  sized  barn  with  a  basement  sta- 
ble, a  good  threshing  floor  and  a  large  stor- 
age for  fodder  is  shown  in  plan  (A143). 
The  wall  may  be  made  of  stone  or  cement 
according  to  circumstances.  Eight  feet 
head  room  is  enough  for  the  cow  stable 
but  usually  nine  feet  is  better  for  a  horse 


this  case  there  is  a  good  deal  of  outside 
wall  clear  of  the  bank  and  the  windows 
may  be  made  large. 

Balloon  roofs  are  becoming  quite  pop- 
ular in  barn  construction,  but  some  of  the 
first  ones  were  not  made  strong  enough 
and    heavv    winds    wrecked    them.     This 


rLcy/rr/Ofl/ 


■s^cr/oA/ 


stable.  This  barn  should  front  the  south 
and  the  root  house  should  be,  if  possible, 
in  a  bank  on  the  north  side  and  the  feed 
alley  is  so  arranged  that  a  feed  car  may  be 
run  into  the  root  house  on  a  level. 

It  probably  would  be  better  to  construct 
a  board  partition  between  the  horse  stable 
and  the  cow  stable,  but  the  calf  and  bull 
pens  would  be  better  without  a  partition 
because  the  air  will  circulate  better  and 
there  will  be  more  light  in  the  cow  stable. 

One  objection  to  a  basement  stable  is 
the  difficulty  of  lighting  it  properly.  A 
good  deal  depends  on  the  exposure.     In 


roof  however  is  braced  by  the  gables  from 
every  direction  which  makes  the  structure 
a  strong  one. 

The  threshing  floor  is  open  in  the  center 
to  the  roof  but  it  may  be  floored  over  at 
the  ends  if  so  desired.  The  intention  is  to 
work  the  horse  fork  from  this«floor;  to 
drive  in  with  loads  from  the  bank  at  the 
north  and  back  out. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  leave  sufficient  open- 
ing to  run  the  straw  carrier  or  stacker  up 
to  the  mows  above.  On  most  farms  it 
would  be  desirable  to  have  a  stack  in  the 
yard  but  it  is  just  as  well  to  put  some  of 


28 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


the  straw  back  in   the  barn.     A  balloon  It  will  be  noticed  that  two  hay  chutes 

roof  works   splendidly   for   this   purpose,  are  provided  to  carry  the  hay  down  to  the 

The  stacker  may  be  turned  to  blow  the  feed  alleys.  Hay  chutes  are  a  great  conven- 

straw  to  the  furtherest  end  of  any  gable.  ience  but  they  are  draughty  things  unless 


It  is  a  good  plan  to  pay  careful  attention  doors  are  provided.     In  putting  in  the  up- 

to  the  ventilation  of  any  stable.     The  air  per  floor  timbers  and  joists  it  is  a  good 

in  a  basement  stable  is  seldom  as  good  as  plan  to  make  them  continuous  by  building 

it  should  be.    There  are  two  air  shafts  in  them  up  with  two  inch  plank  so  as  to  tie 

this  plan  with  openings  near  the  floor.  the  building  together  in  both  directions. 


BARN      PLANS 


29 


Remember  in  building  this  barn  you  have  ary  than  the  one  shown  in  the  plan.  In  that 
no  upper  ties  and  you  must  support  the  case  it  may  be  extended  to  cover  the  whole 
roof  from  the  frame  below,  but  this  is  eas-     floor  in  the  granary  wing,  which  would 


3^  -  O      — 


ilv  done  because  of  the  shape  of  the  build-     make  the  granary  about  twenty-two  by 
ing.  thirty  feet  and  the  hay  shoot  would  pass 

Some  farmers  may  need  a  larger  gran-     down    through    it    just    the    same. 


30 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


A   Double  Corn  Crib — A 105 

An  old  fashioned  style  double  corn  crib  side  opening  from  the  center  passage,  but 
with  a  drive  between  and  a  roof  to  cover  if  the  space  is  desirable  for  wagon  storage 
both  cribs  is  shown  in  plan  (A105).    This     the  doors  are  built  at  the  end  as  shown. 


^^c/yo/v  or  /?oi/s/-C  co/f/v  c/fz/a 

crib  is  set  on  cedar  posts  planted  three 
and  one-half  feet  in  the  ground  and  set  up 
two  and  one-half  feet  above  ground  to  be 
out  of  the  way  of  mice  and  rats.  The  space 
between  the  two  cribs  makes  a  convenient 
place  to  store  a  couple  of  wagons.  The 
doors  being  at  the  end,  the  center  space  is 
left  free  for  this  purpose.  A  good  many 
cribs  built  on  this  plan  have  the  doors  in- 


Z7/?//<2"A-^K 


—  7-0 


The  storage  room  overhead  will  be  found 
useful  on  anv  farm. 


A  Small   Double  Poultry  House — A 154 


A  small  double  poultry  house  is  shown  in 
plan  (A154).  It  is  twenty-four  feet  long 
and  sixteen  feet  wide,  giving  a  space  of  six- 
teen by  twelve  feet  to  each  compartment. 
It  is  very  simple  and  it  is  also  cheap  and 
durable.    It  may  be  built  of  matched  stuff 


with  the  smooth  side  turned  in,  or  it  may 
be  constructed  of  rough  lumber.  Of  course 
matched  stuff  is  very  much  the  best  as  it 
leaves  no  harbor  for  vermin  and  no  lodge- 
ment for  dust.  In  either  case  the  building 
is  covered  outside  with  tarred  paper.    The 


sc/r/7rc///A/c     /?oo/^ 


j^     - 

i 

1 1 ,    ,1 1 

1,     ,1 

/^^o^/LT/T-y    ^oas£ 


BARN      PLANS 


31 


paper  is  started,  in  strips,  from  the  eaves 
in  front,  carried  over  the  peak  and  clear 
down  to  the  ground  at  the  back. 

Inside,  the  house  is  practically  all  one 
room,  but  a  roost  curtain  inay  be  hung 
with  a  roller  to  pull  down  at  night  or  the 
cotton  may  be  tacked  on  a  hinged  frame 
to  let  down  at  night,  also  one  or  more  of 


the  windows  may  be  left  open  and  the 
spaces  covered  with  cotton. 

Against  the  back  wall  is  the  droppings 
board  with  the  roosts  above  it  and  the 
nest  boxes  underneath.  All  this  furnish- 
ing is  made  removable  so  far  as  possible 
for  easy  cleaning.  The  apron  board  in 
front  of  the  nest  boxes  lifts  out  in  sections. 


Attractive  Stables — A 1 1 6 


A  very  neat,  attractive  stable  for  a  city 
or  village  is  here  given.  A  good  stone  wall 
is  laid  down  below  frost,  or  it  may  be  car- 
ried a  little  deeper  and  the  part  under  the 
carriage  room  excavated  for  a  cellar,  but 


in  this  case  a  retaining  wall  would  be 
necessary  on  the  stable  side  because  the 
box  stalls  are  supposed  to  have  an  earth 
floor.  Any  way,  you  don't  want  horses 
over  a  cellar.     The  elevation  is  pleasing 


/^/?0/V  T     ^L  £:/^/7  r/o/v 


2>2 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


^£?^Q^^  s/£y//^^^ 


because  it  is  not  exactly  plain,  still  there  is  oats,  and  the  upper  door  is  wide  enough 

no  great  additional  expense  in  building  a  and    high    enough    to    admit    the    supply 

roof  like  this  or  in   the  little  projection  easily.    The  doors  to  the  box  stalls  should 

from  the  upper  door  in  front.     There  is  be  made  in  halves  so  that  the  upper  half 

storage  room  above  for  hay,  straw  and  may  be  opened  and  the  lower  half  closed. 


BARN      PLANS 


33 


An  Octagon   Barn — A 150 


This  is  a  cement  silo  with  a  barn  built 
around  it.  The  arrangement  is  a  good  one 
for  feeding  young  cattle  to  make  them 
grow,  rather  than  to  fatten  steers  for  the 
market.  The  silo  is  sixteen  feet  in  diam- 
eter and  thirty-two  feet  high  with  a  twelve 
inch  cement  wall  and  a  pit  that  reaches 
three  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground. 


rods  connect  all  the  floor  joists  and  all  the 
rafters.  This  makes  a  circle  of  three  quar- 
ter inch  iron  at  the  floor  and  again  at  the 
roof,  but  if  the  different  sides  of  the  build- 
ing are  well  tied  together  there  will  be  no 
getting  away  even  if  the  iron  rods  are  not 
used. 

The     octagon     construction     has     been 


Three  feet  is  deep  enough  to  give  a  good 
solid  foundation  and  it  is  deep  enough 
when  you  come  to  pitch  the  last  silage  out 
of  the  bottom. 

The  frame-work  of  the  barn  is  very 
light.  The  silo  is  used  to  support  the  mid- 
dle and  the  barn  really  is  braced  from  ev- 
ery direction.  Every  side  is  both  a  brace 
and  a  tie  for  the  next  side.  To  prevent 
any  possible  pulling  away  from  the  silo. 


£LCr/ITJON 


worked  out  in  this  plan  in  preference  to  a 
round  barn  because  the  construction  is 
cheaper.  The  sills  and  other  timbers  are 
straight.  The  joists  usually  are  cut  square, 
at  least  there  are  not  very  many  bevels  and 
when  a  joist  is  beveled  it  is  only  on  one 
end  and  the  other  end  is  cut  square.  It  is 
the  same  with  the  rafters. 

There  is  considerable  room  for   straw 
and  hav  around  the  silo  and  it  is  easv  to 


34 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


make  places  next  to  the  silo  for  putting 
both  hay  and  straw  down  into  the  feed 
alley. 

The  mangers  being  next  to  the  feed  al- 
lay makes  feeding  as  easy  and  convenient 
as  it  is  possible  to  have  it.  Perhaps  no 
other  barn  construction  can  offer  such  ad- 
vantages at  feeding  time.  The  mangers 
hold  hay,  corn  stalks  or  other  roughage 
and  the  bottoms  are  tight  for  feeding  corn 


or  ensilage.  The  feed  room  in  front  of  the 
silo  doors  is  boarded  to  the  ceiling  so  that 
ensilage  enough  for  a  full  feed  may  be 
piled  up  out  of  the  way  of  the  ensilage 
cart.  A  packing  box  with  large  castors 
may  be  used  for  a  silage  cart  or  it  may  be 
a  well  built  cart  with  heavy  iron  wheels 
and  with  hinged  sides  to  drop  over  to  the 
manger. 

There  are  four  entrances  for  conveni- 


FL  OOR    PL  /1/v 


BARN      PLANS 


35 


ence  in  getting  out  the  manure  and  most 
of  them  will  be  used  at  times  for  letting 
stock  in  or  out,  especially  if  the  barn  is 
divided  up  in  compartments  for  the  dififer- 
ent  kinds  of  stock.  Each  post  has  a  good 
cement  footing  as  shown  in  the  plan  and 
the  elevation  shows  the  way  the  timbers 
run. 

There  is  no  floor  in  the  bottom  except 


the  ground  as  it  is  intended  to  let  the  straw 
and  manure  accumulate,  but  there  is  a 
good  feed  room  floor  as  this  is  where  the 
work  is  done  three  or  four  times  a  day.  A 
silo  surrounded  like  this  must  be  filled 
with  a  carrier.  A  blast  stack  will  not  work 
well  on  an  incline  and  it  is  not  convenient 
to  place  the  cutter  close  to  the  silo,  but  a 
good  carrier  works  all  right. 


A  Small   Poultry   House — A  i  5  3 


A  little  two  story  poultry  house  that 
looks  like  a  plaything  is  shown  in  plan 
(A153),  but  this  house  is  alright  so  far  as 
it  goes.  It  is  especially  valuable  for  a  boy 
who  would  like  to  start  in  the  poultry  bus- 
iness but  cannot  afford  a  more  expensive 
house.  This  little  house  is  four  feet  wide 
and    twelve   feet   long   with   a    scratching 


jambs    to    keep    the    cold    from    coming 
through  the  cracks. 

The  nest  boxes  and  roosts  are  loose 
so  they  may  be  moved  about  for  cleaning 
or  taken  out  at  any  time  and  put  back  as 
needed.  It  is  not  intended  that  any  one 
will  find  it  necessary  to  go  inside  this  lit- 
tle house.     The  work  is  all  done  through 


r   ' 

so/7^p    (//=>  /f/vn    £>otvvv 

' 

^£Cr/OA/ 


S/DE  £L€l^/fT/ON 


shed  the  full  size  on  the  ground  under  the 
floor.  This  space  underneath  is  two  feet 
high  and  the  windows  should  extend  well 
across  the  front  side. 

A  runway  for  the  chickens  to  get  up  and 
down  the  stairs  is  made  by  sawing  off  one 
wide  floor  board  and  hinging  it  in  such  a 
way  as  to  let  one  end  drop  to  the  ground. 
When  this  is  raised  up  it  fits  the  opening 
in  the  floor  and  it  should  be  fitted  with 


the  windows.  The  inner  screens  may  be 
rigged  with  cord  and  pulleys  to  hold  them 
up  and  the  outside  windows  may  be  held 
up  by  braces  from  the  building.  To  gath- 
er the  eggs,  clean  out  the  house,  or  for 
feeding,  one  of  the  windows  is  raised  and 
the  screen  pulled  back  with  a  cord.  The 
chickens  may  be  driven  down  stairs  or  up- 
stairs during  the  operation  The  screen 
mav  be  of  wire  or  canvas,  or  both.  Canvas 


36 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


is  the  best  because  the  window  can  be  then  where  considerable  poultry  is  kept  one  of 
left  open  and  the  chickens  will  get  plenty  these  little  houses  would  be  found  useful 
of  fresh  air  without  a  door.     On  farms     occasionally  to  keep  some  breed  separate. 

Stable  for  Twenty-Four  Cows — Aioi 


This  plan  provides  stabling  complete 
for  twenty-four  cows  with  calf  pen,  bull 
pen,  two  box  stalls,  a  feed  room  and  a 
wash  room.  This  plan  offers  the  advant- 
age of  a  wide  driveway  through  the  cen- 
ter feed  alley  which  is  a  great  advantage 
in  the  summer  time  when  green  feed  is 
used  for  soiling  purposes  and  hauled  di- 
rectly on  hay-racks  from  the  fields  to  the 
cows  in  the  stable. 

There  is  an  advantage  in  having  a  bull 
pen  arranged  in  this  manner.  The  door 
at  the  corner  opens  into  the  yard  for  exer- 
cise and  the  pen  inside  is  made  of  one  and 
one  half  inch  gas  pipe  pickets  placed  five 
inches    apart    from    centers.     This    gives 


about  three  inches  in  the  clear  between  the 
pickets.  The  object  in  this  is  to  let  the 
bull  see  everything  that  is  going  on  in  the 
stable.  It  makes  a  bull  much  more  con- 
tented and  he  is  less  liable  to  become  cross. 
A  bull  needs  company  just  as  much  as  any 
other  animal.  A  great  deal  of  trouble  has 
come  from  shutting  bulls  up  in  tight  pens 
where  they  become  lonesome  and  morose. 
Box  stalls  are  boarded  to  the  ceiling  and 
made  as  warm  and  as  comfortable  as  pos- 
sible. 

The  width  of  this  stable  is  thirty-six 
feet,  rather  wider  than  usual  but  it  allows 
ample  room  for  the  driveway  in  the  center 
and  a  good  passageway  behind  the  cows 


^/0£  £L€y}9r/o/v  or  D/^/Z^Y  jS/F/T/V 


BARN      PLANS 


37 


besides  giving  room  enough  to  place  the 
feed  room,  box  stalls  and  other  pens  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  driveway  in  one  end 


age  with  this  stable  is  the  number  of  win- 
dows. The  windows  extend  from  the  ceil- 
ing to  within  three  feet  of  the  floor  which 


r/fOf/T   ^/.^K^T/ON    or  o/rwy   B^/fAi 


of  the  Stable.  The  length  of  the  building  is  a  great  advantage  in  admitting  sun- 
is  eighty-four  feet,  but  of  course  it  could  shine.  The  manger  in  this  stable  is  placed 
be  extended  if  more  room  is  desired  with-  two  inches  above  the  floor.  It  is  two  feet 
out  altering  the  width  or  the  general  plan,  wide  and  six  inches  deep  and  the  bottom 


iil  MI  I  I  I  i  i  I 


/^/.oo/f    /=//5'/v   or  /vooefiN  o/rwy  BffRf^ 


Placing  the  silo  near  the  middle  of  the 
building  saves  carrying  the  silage  more 
than  fifty  feet  which  is  a  great  saving  of 
steps  at  feeding  time.     One  great  advant- 


is  slightly  rounded.  Three  feet  six  inches 
are  allowed  for  the  width  of  the  stalls  with 
a  standing  floor  four  feet  ten  inches.  Of 
course  both  the  length  and  width  of  the 


38 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


stalls  should  be  made  to  fit  the  cows.  For 
an  extra  large  Holstein  a  four  foot  stall 
with  a  five  foot  length  may  not  be  too 
much  but  four  feet  ten  inches  by  three  and 
one  half  feet  is  big  enough  for  most  cows 
and  it  is  too  much  for  some.  A  perfect 
cow  stall  has  never  been  invented.  If  some 
dairyman  wishes  to  be  honored  by  poster- 
ity he  should  get  busy  and  invent  a  cow 
stall  that  will  be  thoroughly  satisfactory 
under  all  circumstances. 

The  calf  pen  in  this  plan  meets  the  views 
of  the  best  dairymen  who  have  examined 
it.  It  is  twenty-one  by  eleven  feet  with  a 
manger  in  front  for  grain  feeding  and  a 
ha3'-rack  along  the  back  wall.  Individual 
stanchions  are  provided  for  use  when  feed- 
ing the  calves  grain  or  milk.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  devise  a  better  arrangement  for 
calves  and  we  all  know  that  the  calves  of 
this  year  are  the  cows  two  years  hence 
and  the  value  of  the  cow  depends  on  the 
quality  of  the  calf  and  tb.e  feed  and  care 
given  it. 

A  silo  for  twenty-eight  sows  should  hold 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty  tons.  This 
amount  will  rather  more  than  feed  the 
cows  during  the  winter  but  it.  is  a  good 
plan  to  have  a  little  silage  left  over  to  help 
out  the  green  feed  in  summer  time.    A  silu 


sixteen  feet  in  diameter  and  thirtv-two 
feet  high  is  very  satisfactory. 

The  milk  room  is  not  exactly  separate 
but  it  is  built  on  the  front  and  there  are 
two  spring  doors  to  shut  out  the  odors  of 
the  stable.  This  building  provides  for  stor- 
age over  the  stable  with  a  feed  chute  in 
one  corner  of  the  feed  room.  There  is  a 
large  door  betw-een  this  feed  room  and  the 
alley  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  dust 
from  flying  out  into  the  stable.  This  feed 
chute  is  large  enough  so  that  hay,  straw 
or  any  roughage  may  be  dropped  into  it 
from  above  in  sufficient  quantity  at  one 
time.  The  door  may  then  be  opened  and 
the  stuff  forked  out.  There  is  also  a  small 
door  opening  from  the  chute  into  the  feed 
room.  This  is  for  the  purpose  of  mixing 
together  feed  wath  chopped  stuff  in  case 
the  owner  puts  a  cutting  box  over  head. 

Because  of  the  storage  room  above,  the 
upper  floor  is  made  double  thickness  with 
two  thicknesses  of  paper  between,  match- 
ed flooring  is  used  and  the  first  course  nail- 
ed to  the  joists  in  the  usual  way,  only  that 
the  dressed  side  is  placed  down.  The  two 
thicknesses  of  paper  are  then  put  on  and 
the  other  floor  laid  over  it  and  nailed  over 
the  joists,  the  workmen  being  guided  by 
chalk  lines  on  the  paper. 


An   Implement  Shed- -A  148 


An  implement  shed  sixteen  feet  wide 
by  forty-eight  feet  long  is  given  in  plan 
(A148).  This  shed  really  is  built  in  six- 
teen foot  sections  and  may  be  carried  to 
any  length,  but  this  size  will  hold  the  im- 
plements and  machinery  on  an  ordinary 
farm  and  leave  room  at  one  end  for  a  work 
bench  and  repair  shop. 

The  front  is  all  doors  so  that  any  part 
of  the  shed  may  be  opened  and  any  imple- 
ment removed  without  the  work  of  getting 
it  past  some  of  the  others.     We  have  all 


had  experience  in  crowded  ([uarters  for 
farm  machinery.  We  have  been  obliged 
to  call  all  the  male  men  together  and  oc- 
casionally invite  the  women  to  help  get  a 
grain  drill  out  from  behind  harrows, 
plows,  cultivators  and  other  machinery. 
One  reason  why  farm  machinery  is  neg- 
lected is  because  farmers  have  no  place  to 
keep  it.  It  is  not  repaired  when  it  should 
be  for  the  same  reason.  It  is  quite  a  job 
to  do  a  simple  piece  of  repair  work  if  you 
haven't  the  tools  or  the  room  in  which  to 


BARN      PLANS 


39 


do  it,  but  anybody  can  clean  up  machinery 
and  oil  or  paint  it  if  they  have  a  comfort- 
able place  to  work  and  the  tools  to  work 
with. 

The  front  part  of  this  shed  is  built  high- 


feet  high  and  the  cross  girts  are  the  same 
height  because  it  is  sometimes  necessary 
to  move  the  machines  lengthwise  of  the 
shed  and  the  same  head  room  is  then  need- 
ed.    A  truss  is  formed  at  each  bent  with 


er  than  the  back  part  in  order  to  leave 
head  room.  If  you  want  to  get  in  with  a 
binder  with  the  reel  on,  or  to  house  a 
threshing  machine  or  traction  engine  you 
need  about  ten  feet  to  the  top  of  the  doors, 
but  you  don't  need  so  much  height  to  the 
back  end.     The  doors  in  this  plan  are  ten 


the  rafters  to  prevent  the  building  from 
spreading.  The  two  by  four  nailers  shown 
in  the  detail  drawing  is  intended  for  the 
end  bents  only. 

In  the  end  of  the  shed  most  convenient 
a  good  solid  bench  should  be  rigged  up 
and  fitted  with  a  good  vise.     At  the  back 


40 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


of  this  bench  there  should  be  a  long  low 
window  similar  to  those  used  in  black- 
smith shops  all  over  the  country.  The 
bench  should  be  heavv,  solid  and  at  least 


three  feet  wide.  There  should  be  a  good 
floor  especially  in  the  bench  end  of  the 
building  and  it  is  a  good  plan  to  put  up  a 
chimnev  and  have  a  stove  there. 


A  Cyclone  Barn — A 126 


A  style  of  barn  that  has  been  built  ex- 
tensively in  the  west  is  shown  in  this  plan. 
The  structure  is  made  of  light  timbers, 
but  they  are  thoroughly  braced  in  every 
direction.  So  solid  is  the  frame  that  one 
half  of  the  barn  may  be  built  and  the  other 
side  added  as  time  will  permit.  The  frame 
work  of  each  side  is  built  on  the  truss  plan. 


The  roof  in  the  center  is  built  on  the  canti- 
lever principle.  Even  the  roof  projections 
at  the  sides  are  built  more  to  strengthen 
the  structure  than  to  add  space  to  the  mow 
room. 

This  is  a  kind  of  barn  that  farmers  want 
who  farm  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  of  land  and  keep  a  variety  of  stock. 


£:L£:yy7r/oA/ 


•J/TC  r/OA/ 


BARN      PLANS 


41 


42 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


Everything  necessary  in  a  barn  may  be  en- 
closed under  one  roof  by  following  this 
plan.  The  cows  are  on  one  side  and  the 
horses  on  the  other  with  hay  storage  in  the 
center  and  a  feed  room  convenient  to  both 
while  it  is  easily  shut  off  from  either. 

In  making  the  cement  floors  it  is  better 
to  make  a  solid  floor  including  the  alley 
and  reaching  to  the  outer  walls  on  each 
side.  This  is  really  necessary  on  the  cow 
stable  side  to  have  it  right.  It  is  better 
on  the  horse  side,  then  lay  a  plank  floor 
over  the  cement  in  the  horse  stalls. 


This  style  of  barn  offers  room  for  a 
great  deal  of  storage  and  a  convenient  way 
to  get  rough  stufif  in.  It  is  not  so  conveni- 
ent to  do  threshing  in  a  barn  like  this  as 
some  others  but  the  barn  is  not  intended 
to  answer  every  purpose.  It  would  be  dif- 
ficult to  make  one  building  just  exactly 
right  for  everything.  There  are  enough 
advantages  in  this  building  to  satisfy  most 
farmers.  It  is  cheap  considering  the 
amount  of  room  enclosed,  and  it  is  especi- 
ally convenient  in  the  arrangement  for 
the  winter. 


Dairy   Barn  with  Storage — A 136 


rROA/r    CL  ciy/iriohi 


CO/f/V    Cffifi 


A  great  many  dairymen  object  to  hav- 
ing storage  of  any  kind  over  a  cow  stable. 
There  is  more  or  less  dust  from  the  mows, 
and  the  dust  is  objectionable  for  several 
reasons.  But  it  is  impossible  to  keep  cows 
profitably  unless  the  rough  feed  and  straw 
may  be  reached  easily.    Labor  is  so  expen- 


sive that  even  the  steps  necessary  while 
feeding  must  be  counted  and  reckoned  in 
the  cost.  If  there  is  no  storage  over  the 
cows  there  must  be  storage  near  by  The 
silo  in  this  plan  is  placed  at  the  side  about 
midway  along  the  length  of  the  stable  for 
easy   feeding.     This   position  also  makes 


BARN      PLANS 


43 


it  easy  to  get  the  green  cut  stalks  into  the     very  handy  in  the  summer  time  if  green 
silo  at  filling  time.  feed  is  fed  to  the  cows  in  the  stable. 

Not  much  corn  is  fed  to  dairy  cows,  but         In    the    storage    barn    the    hay    mow 


■siDC  CLcyyvr/o/v 


the  crib  is  not  far  away  from  either  cows  reaches  from  the  ground  to  the  roof.  For 
or  horses.  A  dairy  room  ten  by  seventeen  comfort  in  cold  weather  it  is  better  to 
feet  is  built  in  the  corner  next  to  the  stor-     board  up  the  side  of  this  mow  to  the  floor 


C O ycJ*^  o^^'^ o 


-     J^iOO/t"      /='L/J/V     or    CyfTTLC    Bff/fV 


age  barn  easily  accessible  to  the  stable.  It  over  the  driveway.  It  is  necessary  to  have 
would  not  be  necessary  to  have  a  door  at  an  opening  through  the  floor  over  the 
the  outer  end  of  the  feed  alley,  but  it  is     drivewav  to  use  a  hay  fork     The  opening 


44 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


may  be  boarded  around  and  used  as  a  great  extent  upon  the  kind  of  farming  car- 
chute  to  pitch  hay  down  through  for  feed-  ried  on  and  the  other  buildings  on  the 
ing,   but   such   details   must   depend  to  a     farm. 

Hog  House  and  Corn  Crib — A 140 


Hogs  and  corn  may  both  be  kept  in  the 
same  house  economically  by  building  a 
house  like  the  one  shown  in  plan  (A140). 
The  building  is  set  up  from  the  ground 
about  a  foot  on  posts  and  pens  are  made 
in  the  usual  way  with  an  alley  between. 

The  floor  above  to  hold  the  corn  slants 


each  way  from  the  center.  There  is  about 
seven  feet  head  room  in  the  middle  over 
the  alley  and  the  floor  slopes  to  about  five 
feet  to  the  sides  of  the  building.  This  is 
for  two  reasons,  to  get  the  corn  down  as 
low  as  possible  and  to  divide  it  into  two 
parts  to  prevent  moulding.    It  is  also  nee- 


BARN      PLANS 


45 


essary  to  put  a  slatted  partition  on  both 
sides  of  the  floor  ridge  if  the  house  is  filled 
full  of  corn.  There  are  two  windows  in 
each  end  and  the  hog  doors  are  hung  with 


Because  of  the  shape  of  the  corn  floor 
it  is  necessary  to  support  it  well  in  the  cen- 
ter which  is  done  by  running  the  alley  par- 
titions up  to  the  floor  joists  above.     This 


/o~o 


-?  <- 


/o-o- 


^Z,Z,^X 


/=*£:a/ 


^£:/v 


j^lOO/f    /=^/./7/V 


pins  so  they  swing  either  way  and  the  hogs 
open  them  going  or  coming.  A  pin  at  the 
bottom  outside  holds  the  door  shut  when 
it  is  desirable  to  keep  the  hogs  confined 


is  very  important  because  the  weight  of 
the  corn  will  shove  the  sides  of  the  build- 
ing out  if  the  floor  is  permitted  to  settle, 
an  accident  which  frequently  occurs  . 


A  Small  Double  Poultry  House — A 1 5  i 


A  poultry  house  with  an  open  scratching 
shed  is  shown  in  plan  (A151).  The  house 
is  thirty-four  feet  long  by  twelve  in  width. 
Poultry  men  differ  about  the  width  of  a 
house  constructed  in  this  manner.  Some 
prefer  twelve  feet  because  it  is  easier  to 
get  the  sunlight  clear  to  the   back,  as  these 


houses  should  always  front  the  south.  On 
the  other  hand  men  with  considerable  ex- 
perience prefer  houses  sixteen  or  even 
twenty  feet  in  width  because  they  can 
house  more  fowls  for  practically  the  same 
amount  of  money. 

There  are  many  ways  of    building    an 


46 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


open  scratching  shed  and  poultry  house, 
but  this  plan  seems  to  contain  about  eve- 
rything that  is  necessary.  The  door  open- 
ing into  the  hen-house  is  just  a  frame  cov- 
ered with  cotton  which  admits  both  light 


poultry  men  more  than  anything  else. 
Why  a  poultry  house  should  gather  damp- 
ness and  have  white  frost  on  the  inside 
when  all  the  stables  on  the  farm  are  com- 
paratively  dry   has    bothered    more    men 


3€CT/OA/ 

and  air  to  the  roosts  and  nest  boxes.  The 
outside  wire  netting  may  be  covered  with 
cotton  or  not  according  to  the  climate  and 
the  ideas  of  the  owner. 

The  roofing  is  tarred  paper  and  it  starts 


rLOOff      fL»N     or    CM/CKCN    HOl/SC 


at  the  highest  point  in  front,  turns  over  the 
upper  corner  at  the  back  and  goes  clear 
down  to  the  ground.  This  makes  a  thor- 
oughly wind  proof  and  damp  proof  house. 
It  is  a  peculiar  thing  about  the  damp- 
ness in  poultry  houses.  It  is  a  compara- 
tively simple  question  that  has  bothered 

A  Cement  Block  Smoke  House 


than  anything  else  in  the  poultry  line.  It 
is  easier  to  build  a  satisfactory  stable  for 
any  other  domestic  animal  than  it  is  for 
chickens  unless  we  are  satisfied  with  what 
is  commonly  termed  a  curtain  front  house. 
The  phrase  curtain  front  simply  ineans 
that  some  of  the  openings  are  covered  with 
thin  cotton  instead  of  glass.  It  seems  to 
have  solved  the  problem  of  how  to  make  a 
chicken  house  light,  airy  and  dry,  but  not 
all  curtain  front  houses  work  alike.  A  great 
deal  depends  on  the  head  room.  A  few  hens 
have  not  body  warmth  enough  to  heat  a 
great  deal  of  space.  You  cannot  have  good 
ventilation  without  heat.  The  solution 
seems  to  be  to  build  a  comparatively  small 
house  with  a  low  roof.  Some  poultry  men 
build  their  curtain  front  houses  as  low  as 
two  feet  at  the  back  and  only  about  six  or 
seven  feet  high  in  the  front. 


A147 


Every  farm  should  have  a  smoke  house, 
the  better  the  house  the  more  satisfactory 
will  be  the  meat.  The  plans  shown  of 
CA147)  is  for  a  house  constructed  of  ce- 
ment blocks.  It  should  be  placed  conveni- 
ently near  the  house  on  a  raise  of  ground 
and  a  foundation  started  below  the  frost 
line.  A  trench  should  be  dug,  say  3'/  feet 
deep  partly  filled  with  concrete  made  of 
one  part  of  Portland  cement,  two  and  one- 
half  parts  sand  and  five  parts  of  broken 


stone  or  gravel,  ramming  or  puddling  care- 
fully. If  plenty  sand  may  be  conveniently 
had,  it  would  be  a  good  plan  to  secure  a 
block  machine  and  have  the  blocks  made 
on  the  ground.  In  making  the  concrete 
blocks,  use  a  mixture  of  one  part  Port- 
land cement,  two  and  one-half  parts 
sand  and  five  parts  of  crushed  stone  or 
gravel..  The  use  of  crushed  stone  or 
coarse  material  for  the  back  of  the  block 
saves  a  great  deal  of  cement  and  at  the 


BARN      PLANS 


47 


same  time  gives  a  much  better  block  than 
where  sand  and  cement  alone  are  used. 
Blocks  made  of  sand  and  cement  alone 
and  merely  dampened  are  not  concrete 
blocks,  but  on  the  contrary  are  simply  sand 


blocks.  The  very  term  of  concrete  sug- 
gests coarse  material  and  plenty  of  water. 
Great  care  should  be  taken  in  mixing  the 
different  aggregates  and  they  should  be 
mixed  thoroughly  dry  and  after  they  have 
been  thoroughly  mixed  add  water.  After 
the  blocks  have  been  made  they  should 
be  set  aside  to  be  cured,  and  while  cur- 
ing, they  should  be  sprayed  thoroughly 
from  seven  to  ten  days.  This  spraying 
should  commence  about  twelve  hours  after 
the  block  has  been  made.  Blocks  should 
never  be  used  in  building  until  they  are 
from  twenty  to  thirty  days  old. 

Farm  cured  meats  are  a  great  luxury  if 
the  hogs  are  properly  grown  on  pasture. 
With  a  house  like  this  and  good  pork  to 
start  with,  a  farmer  can  supply  his  table 
with  good  home-made  bacon,  hams  and 
shoulders  the  year  round. 

The   best   smoke    is    made    from   green 


maple  wood.  Probably  clean  corn  cobs 
come  next.  With  a  smoke  house  thor- 
oughly well  built  to  keep  out  flies  and  oth- 
er insects  the  meat  may  be  smoked  in  the 
spring  and  left  in  the  smoke  house  all  sum- 
mer. By  way  of  precaution  a  very  little 
smoke  may  be  started  once  or  twice  a 
month  or  some  of  the  meat  may  be  cover- 
ed with  paper  and  cloth.  Very  much  de- 
pends on  the  house.  If  the  house  is  too 
dry  there  will  be  too  much  evaporation 
and  the  meat  will  become  dry;  if  the  house 
is  too  damp  it  Avill  be  inclined  to  mould. 
If  it  is  intended  to  keep  the  meat  in  the 
liouse  after  the  smoking  process  is  com- 
pleted it  will  be  necessary  to  fit  the  door 
very  carefully.  .  The  frame  must  have  a 
couple  of  ridges  all  around  and  cement 
worked  in  tight  between  these  ridges  to 
make  tight  joints.  The  ventilator  on  top 
must  be  fitted  with  a  fine  screen.  Two 
screens  would  be  better.  A  coarse  galvan- 
ized screen  on  top  and  a  fine  screen  inside 
at  the  bottom. 

The  plates  and  rafters  must  be  laid  in 
fresh  cement  mortar  on  top  of  the  wall. 

All  spaces  between  rafters  are  filled  in  so 
as  to  prevent  cracks  or  openings  of  an}' 
kind.  Cross  poles  to  support  the  meat  are 
made  of  four  by  fours  with  half  inch  pegs 
inserted  from  the  sides.  The  pegs  are  set 
at  an  angle  of  about  thirty  degrees.  This 


48 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


will  permit  hanging  the  pieces  of  meat  in  preferred  the  same  kind  of  peg  may  be 
the  old  fashioned  way  of  cutting  a  slit  in  used.  Nails  are  not  to  be  recommended 
the  skin  in  the  bone  end.     If  strings  are      for  this  purpose. 


A   Large  Storage   Barn — A.  139 


A  barn  thirty-eight  by  fifty  feet  with  sta- 
bles underneat  and  a  great  deal  of  storage 
room  above  is  shown  in  plan  (A139).  The 


barn  should  face  the  South  with  higher 
ground  at  the  north  from  which  to  build 
an   incline   to   drive  onto   the   first   floor. 


BARN      PLANS 


49 


From  this  incline  hay  and  grain  is  carried 
to  the  peak  with  a  horse  fork  and  distrib- 
uted to  the  different  mows. 

A  very  strong  frame  is  shown  in  this 
plan  that  is  well  braced  from  the  different 


bins  connected  with  spouts  from  the  gran- 
ary on  the  threshing  floor  above.  There 
is  a  good  deal  of  storage  room  in  this  barn 
and  it  is  an  easy  barn  to  do  the  work  in. 
The  hay  from  the  hay  chute  drops  on  the 


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directions.  It  is  intended  to  board  up  and 
down  because  this  is  a  little  cheaper  than 
siding  and  it  is  quicker  put  on.  When  the 
stables  are  underneath  and  there  is  no  ne- 
cessity for  a  warmer  construction  up  above 
the  boarding  up  and  down  is  about  as  good 
as  anything. 

The  arrangement  of  the  barn  is  intended 
for  farms  where  not  many  cows  are  sta- 
bled. There  is  provision  for  horses,  sheep 
and  a  few  young  cattle  and  there  are  grain 


feed  room  floor  and  the  chute  may  be  car- 
ried as  high  as  necessary  through  the  mow 
above.  The  size  of  the  barn  is  thirty-eight 
feet  bv  fifty  feet  on  the  ground,  but  its 
principal  size  is  in  its  height  and  shape  of 
the  roof.  This  is  a  frame  construction  that 
is  especially  well  calculated  to  facilitate 
the  use  of  a  horse  fork  because  it  leaves  a 
clear  space  through  the  center  from  one 
gable  to  the  other.  The  diagonal  braces 
tie  the  frame  work  together  from  every  di- 


50 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


rection  so  each  side  of  the  roof  is  an  inde-  This  is  a  barn  that  would  accommodate 
pendent  truss  so  thoroughly  well  con-  the  stock  kept  on  a  small  farm  and  house 
structed  that  one  half  of  the  barn  would     the  crop  under  the  same  roof  so  conveni- 


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stand  alone.  The  manner  in  which  the  ently  that  one  man  could  do  all  the  chores, 
timbers  are  put  together  is  a  study  in  repair  farm  machinery,  prepare  his  seed 
truss  work.  for  spring  and  have  a  little  leisure  time. 

A   Small   Chicken   House-   A119 


A  very  neat  little  chicken  house  is  shown 
in  plan  (A119).  In  size  it  is  only  7x16 
feet  but  it  makes  comfortable  quarters  for 
15  or  20  hens.  It  is  set  on  posts  a  foot 
or  two  from  the  ground  to  be  out  of  the 
way  of  rats. 

The  floor  is  made  warm  by  having  it 
double  boarded  with  a  thickness  of  build- 


ing paper  between.  The  large  windows  of 
course  face  the  south  and  the  dust  boxes 
are  placed  immediately  in  front  of  them 
because  that  is  the  way  biddy  likes  to  take 
a  dust  bath.  She  wants  it  directly  in  the 
sunlight  if  possible. 

It  is  not  necessary  or  desirable  to  go  into 
a  little  house  like  this  verv  often.     It  is 


BARN      PLANS 


51 


so  small  that  the  presence  of  an  attendant 
frightens  the  hens  and  causes  a  disagree- 
able commotion.  By  proper  management, 
however,  they  can  usually  be  let  out  into 


rear.  The  nest  box  cover,  which  also  is 
the  dropping  board,  is  loose  and  may  be 
easily  taken  out  through  the  door  for 
cleaning:.     The  roosts  also  are  loose  and 


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the  yard  when  the  presence  of  an  attend- 
ant in  the  house  becomes  necessary.     The 


roosts  are  placed  over  the  nest  boxes  and 
the  entrance  to  the  nest  boxes  is  in  the 


may  be  removed  easily. 

This  is  just  the  kind  of  a  house  to  start 
a  boy  in  the  poultry  business.  Boys  take 
more  interest  in  a  small  poultry  house 
than  they  do  in  a  house  full  size. 

A  little  house  like  this  is  helped  out  very 
much  by  having  a  good  yard  in  which  con- 
siderable green  stuff  may  be  grown  for  the 
fowls  to  pick  at.  By  planting  a  little  grain 
and  a  variety  of  vegetables,  the  poultry 
will  pick  up  a  good  deal  of  feed  and  the 
fowls  will  be  more  healthv  because  of  it. 


A  Small  Barn  for  Horses — A 156 


This  plan  is  a  very  neat  arrangement 
for  a  city  or  village  lot  where  two  horses 
are  kept  together  with  the  necessary  car- 
riages and  harness  equipment.  The  car- 
riage room  with  rack  for  washing  buggies 
is  about  as  well  arranged  as  it  could  be 
and  the  harness  room  being  under  the 
stairway  occupies  as  little  space  as  possi- 
ble. Another  nice  arrangement  about  this 
barn  is  the  location  of  the  manure  door. 
The  stalls  may  be  cleaned  and  the  manure 
thrown  out  at  the  back  as  far  away  as  pos- 
sible from  the  carriage  entrance  and  from 
the  side  entrance  to  the  man's  room. 


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RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


Where  horses  are  kept  in  town  there  is     more  or  less  garden  work  to  look  after, 
usually  a  lawn  that  requires  attention  and     For  this  reason  it  is  often  necessary  to 

keep  a  man  and  it  is  desirable  to  have  a 
room  that  he  can  occupy  outside  of  the 
house.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  have  a  man 
sleeping  in  the  stable  where  valuable 
horses  are  kept  so  this  arrangement  works 
first  rate  for  several  reasons.    It  is  hard  to 


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keep  good  men  even  in  town  unless  they 
have  comfortable  accommodations  This 
building  is  thoroughly  well  constructed 
and  the  room  arranged  for  the  man  is 
more  comfortable  than  similar  rooms  in 
some  houses. 


A  Small  Stable— A 124 


A  small  cheap  horse  stabl;'  is  shown  in 
plan  (A124).  It  sometimes  happens  that 
a  separate  stable  for  horses  is  necessary 
because  of  the  manner  in  which  the  other 
buildings  are  constructed  and  occupied. 
This  little  stable  will  accommodate  eight 
horses  and  there  is  room  enough  overhead 
to  hold  the  straw  for  bedding,  but  it  would 
be  necessary  to  provide  the  feed  from 
some  near-by  storage.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  put  a  floor  in  this  stable  unless  it  be  on 
the  side  where  the  open  stalls  are  built. 


<T//fs  £i.ry^T/oA/ 


BARN      PLANS 


53 


But  a  good  many  horse  stalls  have  stiff 
clay  pounded  in  and  there  are  plenty  of 
horse  men  who  prefer  such  stable  bottoms. 
They  are  all  right  if  kept  in  good  condition. 
As  the  material  costs  little  or  nothing  a 
man  can  afford  to  put  a  little  work  on  re- 
pairs occasionally. 


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A   Yankee 

A  style  of  barn  that  is  often  seen  in  New 
England  is  given  in  plan  (A134).  The 
horses  and  cows  occupy  part  of  the  first 
floor,  leaving  a  space  in  one  corner  that 
makes  a  convenient  storage  for  farm  tools. 
There  is  a  driveway  through  this  part  of 
the  barn  and  the  door  is  large  enough  to 
get  in  with  a  hay-rack  or  a  grain  drill. 

The  upper  part  of  the  barn  is  used  al- 
most altogether  for  hay  storage,  the  hay 
being  lifted  from  the  driveway  by  a  horse- 
fork.  It  makes  the  stable  much  warmer 
to  run  the  partitions  in  front  of  the  cows 
and  horses  to  the  ceiling  above  Unfor- 
tunately, too  many  farmers  are  careless 
about  such  things  and  their  animals  often 
suffer  in  large  draughty  stalls. 

This  barn  is  thirty-six  feet  wide  by  sixty 
feet  long,  not  very  large  on  the  ground  for 
a  farm  barn,  but  the  shape  of  the  roof  helps 
out  very  much  in  the  storage. 

It  is  floored  over  with  the  exception  of 
an  opening  over  the  drivewav  and  as  this 


Barn — A 134 

floor  is  only  nine  feet  above  the  ground  it 
leaves  a  very  large  loft. 

There  are  a  good  many  Yankee  barns 


without  so  many  windows,  but  the  win- 
dows are  a  great  advantage.  It  is  much 
easier  and  more  pleasant  to  do  work  in  a 
light  barn  and  the  animals  do  better.  It 
is  difficult  to  account   for  so  manv  dark 


54 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


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barns,  except  that  the  fashion  was  estab-  sive  than  they  are  now.  Glass  and  sash 
lisbed  when  the  country  was  new  and  win-  are  just  about  as  cheap  as  siding,  there  is 
dow  lights  were  a  great  deal  more  expen-     no  economy  in  building  dark  barns. 


BARN      PLANS 


55 


A.  Combined    Barn  and   Covered   Barnyard — A 102 


A  great  many  dairymen  like  to  have  a 
covered  barnyard  for  the  cows  to  exercise 
in  and  some  go  so  far  as  to  keep  the  cows 
in  this  covered  barnyard  both  night  and 


The  plan,  (A102),  is  designed  for  a  bank 
sloping  to  the  south.  There  is  a  good  root 
cellar  in  the  bank  next  to  the  building  on 
the  north  side  and  the  large  roof  surface  is 


^/o£r  CLCfT^r/o/v    a/-  3/>/i/v  ^a/o  y/>/fo 


day,  just  stabling  them  long  enough  to 
milk  and  feed  grain  and  silage.  In  some 
parts  of  the  country  the  covered  barnyard 
is  growing  in  favor. 


utilized  to  furnish  water  for  the  cistern. 
A  cistern  filter  is  placed  inside  the  building 
so  it  won't  freeze.  To  have  nice  cistern 
water  it  is  best  to  run  it  through  a  filter. 


/^/?o/vr    e/.€*r>yr/o/v  or  s^/f/\f  ^a/o   y^/ro 


56 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


The  feed  racks  in  the  covered  barnyard 
are  made  movable  to  facilitate  driving 
through  at  cleaning  time.  Mild  days  in 
winter  the  manure  spreader  is  brought  in 


to  them  with  as  little  work  as  possible. 
With  a  cistern  and  a  windmill  the  water 
tank  is  kept  supplied  all  the  time  so  the 
cows  may  run  to  it  when  thev  want  to.  The 


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at  one  door,  loaded  and  taken  out  at  the 
the  other.  The  racks  are  placed  in  the  cen- 
ter under  the  feed  shoots  so  the  roughage 
from  the  storage  above  may  be  dropped  in- 


stable lloor  should  be  about  two  feet  high- 
er than  the  floor  in  the  covered  barnyard. 
This  gives  an  eight  foor  ceiling  for  the  sta- 
ble and  a  ten  foot  ceiling  in  the  yard. 


A  Single  Corn   Crib — A106 


Sometimes  a  single  corn  crib  is  prefer- 
al)lc  to  a  double  one.  The  corn  keeps  bet- 
ter in  a  single  crib  because  the  air  circu- 


lates all  around.  Sometimes  corn  will 
mould  in  the  center,  even  in  a  good  crib 
that  is  properly  constructed  and  not  too 


BARN      PLANS 


57 


wide.  Sometimes  farmers  bore  the  floor  full  ered  over,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  they  help 
.of  holes  to  help  the  ventilation  but  this  lets  very  much.  A  better  plan  is  to  have  the 
fT  sides  carefully  constructed  and  to  have  the 


the  shelled  corn  through  and  as  dirt  set- 
tles to  the  bottom  the  holes  get  easily  cov- 


corn  in  a  good  condition  when  it  is  put  in 
crib.  A  crib  built  after  this  plan  may  be 
any  length  but  the  posts  should  be  not 
more  than  eight  feet  apart. 


A  Horse  Shed — A  i  2  i 

a    number   of   brood     little  expense. 


On  farms  where 
mares  are  kept  and  colts  of  all  ages  coming 
along,  it  is  much  better  to  have  a  separate 
shed  for  winter  feeding  for  the  colts  than 
to  let  them  run  at  large  among  the  cattle. 
One  colt  might  not  do  much  damage  in 
the  general  barnyard,  but  colts  are  mis- 
chievous and  one  teaches  another. 

A  light  shed  may  be  built  on  this  plan, 
which  is  fifteen  by  thirty-four  feet,  at  very 

HOR6£:    ^neo 


It  should  front  on  the  stack 
yard  and  face  the  south  if  possible.  For 
economy  it  is  placed  on  cedar  posts  let  in 
the  ground  below  frost,  but  it  should  be 
thoroughly  banked  up  in  the  fall  to  keep 
out  the  cold  winds.  In  banking  up  a  shed 
like  this  set  a  board  all  around  the  outside 
to  keep  the  earth  away  from  the  building 
proper.  Fit  the  board  nicely  so  there  are 
no  chinks  to  let  in  the  cold  draft. 


%-^ 


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58 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


A  Model  Cow  Barn — A158 


The  size  of  this  cow  stable  is  thirty-eight 
feet  six  by  one  hundred  and  forty-two  feet 
and  it  has  a  capacity  for  housing  fifty-two 
cows.  It  was  designed  very  carefully  to 
provide  every  comfort  for  a  herd  of  thor- 
oughbred Guernseys. 


The  mangers  are  also  connected  with 
the  sewer  so  that  the  cows  may  be  watered 
in  the  manger  and  the  surplus  water  im- 
mediately drawn  off. 

A  space  of  two  feet  high  between  the 
studding  of  the  outer  walls  is  filled  in  with 


EZD 


The  entire  floor  is  made  of  concrete,  in- 
cluding manger  and  manure  drains  which 
carry  the  liquid  manure  back  to  the  ma- 
nure pits.  They  are  also  connected  with 
the  sewer  drain  so  that  the  wash  water 
from  flooding  the  floors  can  be  carried 
away  to  a  safe  distance. 


concrete  and  troweled  smooth  with  a 
curve  at  the  floor  line  to  leave  no  chance 
for  the  collection  of  filth  to  favor  the 
breeding  of  disease  germs  Gas  piping  is 
used  for  stalls  set  firmly  in  the  cement. 
Each  stall  is  finished  with  individual 
wrought  iron  hay  racks  made  to  swing  up. 


BARN      PLANS 


59 


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RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


There  is  a  cement  top  to  the  concrete 
floors  which  is  finished  rough  enough  to 
prevent  sHpping  and  to  hold  the  bedding. 
Cows  in  this  stable  face  towards  the  cen- 


ing  loaded  into  cars  and  wheeled  through 
the  feed  alley  to  the  mangers. 

Light  and  ventilation  were  main  fea- 
tures  in  the  construction  of  this  stable. 


'■^-"i:.r  •"- 


ter  and  the  center  aisle  is  wide  enough  to 
drive  through  with  a  wagon  and  hay-rack 
for  hauling  loose  hay  and  fodder.  The 
silos  are  located  at  the  end,  the  silage  be- 


Careful  calculations  were  made  to  secure 
plenty  of  fresh  air  for  each  animal  as  the 
sanitary  conditions  with  such  a  valuable 
herd  of  animals  is  an  important  feature. 


A   Cow   Barn   for  Forty   C(nvs — A  15c) 


A  cow  barn  for  the  accommodation  of 
forty  cows  having  a  feed  alley  of  sufificient 
width  to  accommodate  a  wagon  with  a 
load  of  soiling  feeds  is  shown  in  this  plan. 
This  is  the  quickest  and  cheapest  way  of 
distributing  feeds  to  the  mangers  along 
both  sides  of  the  feed  alley. 

The  mangers  as  well  as  the  whole  floor 
surface  are  built  of  concrete  with  the  man- 
gers elevated  only  three  inches  above  the 
floor  level.  As  cows  naturally  feed  from 
the  ground  it  is  only  right  that  the  man- 
gers should  be  very  low  down.  The  side 
of  the  manger  nearest  the  cow  is  made  al- 
most perpendicular  to  prevent  feed  from 
working  over  amongst  the  bedding.     But 


the  feed  alley  floor  is  elevated  and  that 
side  of  the  manger  is  rounded  up  to  it 
which  makes  it  easy  to  keep  the  feed  in 
the  mangers  and  easy  to  kick  it  back  when 
the  cows  shove  it  out,  as  they  do  while 
feeding. 

A  water  faucet  is  placed  at  each  end  of 
the  mangers  for  the  purpose  of  watering 
the  cows.  For  disposing  of  the  water  left 
in  the  manger  a  drain  in  the  center  with  an 
overflow  is  provided.  The  middle  posts 
extend  from  the  back  of  the  mangers  and 
run  to  the  roof  and  these  are  spaced  to  al- 
low three  stanchions  between  the  posts. 

A  gutter  sixteen  inches  wide  and  from 
five  to  eight  inches  deep  is  run  diagonally 


62 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


behind  the  cows,  starting  at  five  feet  four 
from  the  mangers  at  one  end  and  finishing 
up  at  the  other  end  five  feet  ten,  thus  mak- 
ing different  length  stalls  to  accommodate 
longer  or  shorter  cows. 

The  floor  of  the  stalls  is  given  a  slight 
slope  from  the  manger  back  to  the  gutter 
and  the  surface  of  the  floor  is  left  rough 
to  prevent  the  cows  from  slipping  and  to 
hold  the  bedding  in  place.  There  is  suf- 
ficient room  back  of  the  alley  to  run  a 
truck  or  wheelbarrow  to  facilitate  clean- 
ing out  the  manure.  The  liquids  of  course 
run  to  the  lowest  point  in  the  center  of  the 
gutters  where  they  are  connected  with  a 
bell  trap  drain,  whence  they  are  carried  to 
a  catch-basin  directly  opposite  the  drain 
outside  of  the  building.  From  this  catch- 
basin  the  liquids  are  pumped  into  the  dis- 
tributing manure  cart. 

All  side  walls  are  filled  in  solid  between 


■  the  timbers  with  cement  concrete  to  a 
height  of  two  feet  above  the  floor  and  then 
finished  with  smooth  cement  plaster  which 
makes  a  perfectly  sanitary  finish  and  per- 
mits the  entire  barn  floor  to  be  washed 
with  a  hose  and  flooded  with  water  with- 
out injuring  any  woodwork. 

Warmth  and  ventilation  are  secured  by 
fitting  the  size  of  stable  to  the  number  of 
animals  and  there  are  windows  enough  to 
admit  abundant  sunshine  which  is  nature's 
best  disinfectant.  Ventilators  and  fresh 
air  shafts  in  the  walls  supply  a  continuous 
stream  of  fresh  air  which  can  be  controlled 
by  slides.  The  foul  air  enters  the  shafts 
near  the  floor  and  rises  in  the  walls  to  the 
triangular  vent  duct  under  the  ridge  of  the 
roof  and  from  this  duct  the  air  is  exhausted 
through  the  slat  ventilator  towers.  About 
i,8oo  cubic  feet  of  air  space  is  provided  for 
each  animal. 


An  Elevated  Chicken   House — Ai6^ 


This  plan  elevates  the  poultry  house 
about  fourteen  inches  above  the  ground 
for  the  purpose  of  preventing  rats  from 
making  nests  under  the  floor.  It  is  high 
enough  up  so  that  cats  and  dogs  can  have 


0 

free  access  underneath  and  this  space  also 
ofifers  a  shady  protection  for  fowls  in  the 
summer  time.  At  the  approach  of  cold 
weather  in  the  fall  this  space  is  boarded 
up    and    manure    is    banked    against    the 


BARN      PLANS 


63 


boarding  to  keep  out  the  cold.  If  horse 
manure  is  used  considerate  heat  may  be 
generated. 

As  the  building  is  not  very  heavy  the 
sills  are  made  of  two  pieces  of  two  by  six, 


floor  and  this  wall  is  made  tight  to  keep 
out  the  cold.  A  partition  three  and  one- 
half  feet  from  the  north  side  of  the  house 
forms  an  alley  and  the  nests  are  placed 
against  this  partition  so  the  eggs  may  be 


EZl 

(l|S 

■  ■ 

y       

y     y    T 

^^  III 

H    1  Mr- 

H 

h          n 

I              }                I 

one  laid  flat  on  the  supporting  cedar  posts 
and  the  other  turned  edgewise  as  shown 
in  the  drawing. 

The  south  end  of  the  building  is  only 
four  feet  high  above  the  floor  and  the  win- 
dows are  placed  well  down.  This  has  the 
advantage  in  the  winter  time  of  letting  the 
sun  shine  on  the  floor  where  the  chickens 
can  make  the  best  use  of  it. 

The  north  wall  is  six  feet  high  above  the 


gathered  without  going  into  the  henhouse 
proper.  The  nest  boxes  are  placed  high 
enough  above  the  floor  so  the  fowls  may 
use  the  space  under  them  for  scratching. 
The  nest  boxes  are  easily  removed  for 
cleaning  and  they  are  covered  with  a  steep 
slanting  roof  to  prevent  the  hens  from 
roosting  on  them. 

The  ceiling  in  this  house  is  an  important 
feature.     It  is  made  by  nailing  one  by  six 


64 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


boards  on  the  lower  side  of  the  ceiling 
joists  about  two  inches  apart.  In  winter 
the  space  above  this  slatted  floor  is  filled 
in  with  straw  for  the  purpose  of  having 
good  ventilation  without  creating  a  draft. 
In  the  summer  time  the  straw  is  removed 
and  the  place  thoroughly  cleaned. 

For  further  ventilation  there  is  a    vent 
stack  in  each  end  of  the    building    which 


comes  down  to  within  a  few  inches  of  the 
floor.  These  ventilators  pass  out  through 
the  roof  and  extend  above  the  highest 
point  and  are  capped  to  keep  out  the  rain. 
There  is  also  a  slide  near  the  bottom  to 
regulate  the  amount  of  air.  If  heavy  fowls 
are  kept  in  this  house  good  ladders  should 
be  provided  to  help  them  up  and  down  or 
they  may  get  bumble  foot. 


Barn  for  a  Small  Farm — A160 

This  is  a  small  barn  for  a  sma41  farm  and  other  forage.    This  same  opening  ans- 

wherc  four  or  five  horses  are  kept  besides  wers  for  passing  feed  down  to  tlie  mangers 

a  few  milch  cows  and  a  little  other  stock,  from  the  feed  lofts. 

This  barn  was  designed  for  lo  cows,  five  There  are  windows  all  around  this  barn 

horses  and  about  fifty  fowls  and  there  is  for  light  and  ventilation;  a  provision  that 


room  for  a  couple  of  breeding  sows.  In 
every  stable  a  box  stall  or  two  comes  in 
handy.  A  box  stall  is  almost  an  absolute 
necessity  sometime  during  the  year  cither 
for  sick  animals  because  some  special  at- 
tention is  required. 

The  entire  upper  part  is  floored  and 
there  is  an  opening  over  the  storage  and 
implement   room   to   pitch   up  hay.   straw 


is  too  often  left  out  when  farm  barn  plans 
are  made.  It  is  not  necessary  to  shut  a 
barn  all  up  dark,  and  it  is  not  advisable  to 
do  so.  Windows  do  not  cost  nuich  more 
than  siding  and  the  sun  and  light  let  in 
is  a  great  advantage  to  stock 

The  floor  of  this  stable  should  be  of  con- 
crete with  the  upper  layer  an  inch  thick 
composed   of  one   part    Portland    cement 


BARN      PLANS 


65 


and  two  parts  clear  soft  sand  but  in  mak- 
ing a  floor  like  this  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  hard  smooth  cement  is  slippery 
and  dangerous.  The  passage  way  may  be 
marked  off  in  diamonds  with  a  regular  tool 


driveway  is  of  superior  quality  the  cement 
top  layer  should  be  more  than  an  inch  in 
thickness,  perhaps  two  inches  in  the  cen- 
ter tapering  to  an  inch  at  the  sides  next 
to  the  stalls. 


which  presses  into  the  soft  cement  about 
one-half  inch  deep,  but  if  the  work  is  done 
on  the  farm  and  the  usual  mason's  imple- 
ments are  not  at  hand,  a  smooth  rake  han- 
dle may  be  used  by  imbedding  it  in  the 
soft  cement  half  its  thickness.  The  handle 
should  not  be  more  than  three-fourths  or 
seven-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter. 
Unless  the  concrete  foundation  in  this 


PlA/^  or     GA7^// 


In  laying  a  concrete  floor  in  anv  building 
it  is  necessary  to  run  a  wall  around  the 
outside  and  this  wall  should  extend  below 
frost.  If  the  ground  is  inclined  to  damp- 
ness, it  is  better  to  run  a  three  inch  or  four 
inch  drain  tile  all  around  the  wall  along 
the  bottom  and  the  outlet  of  this  tile 
should  be  carried  away  from  the  building 
eight  or  ten  feet  and  terminate  in  a  drain. 


66 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 

A  Plain  Horse  Barn — A161 


A  plain  straight-away  horse  barn  with 
ten  single  stalls,  five  box  stalls,  feed  room, 
harness   room  and  vehicle   room   with   a 


teen  horses  and  it  will  hold  feed  enough  to 
supply  them  for  a  long  time.  The  build- 
ing is  thirty-seven  feet  wide  by  sixty-eight 


■iiii.iii,«'"iiW"'i),,jii,.«.-,a>»' 
:,mh.  7=>ER^F'E:c-r/\yE: 


wash  platform  in  the  center  is  given  in 
this  plan.  There  is  a  driveway  through 
the  center  wide  enough  to  admit  a  load  of 


feet  long.  It  is  set  on  a  stone  foundation 
with  two  rows  of  stone  piers  supporting 
the  floor  joists  and  posts  which  run  to  pur- 
lin plates. 

There  is  a  large  vent  shaft  running  from 
the  stable  ceiling  to  and  through  the  hay 
mow  with  doors  for  throwing  down  hay 
or  fodder  as  well  as  for  ventilation.  Grain 
in  sacks  can  be  hoisted  up  this  ventilator 
shaft  and  conveniently  dumped  into  feed 
bins  which  have  hopper  bottoms  and 
spouts  leading  to  the  mixing  room  below. 


hay  or  a  load  of  straw,  if  so  desired,  but 
there  are  doors  opening  outside  in  the  ga- 
ble to  pitch  in  hay  and  straw,  either  by 
hand  or  horse  fork,  so  it  would  not  be  nec- 
essary ordinarily  to  drive  inside  with  a 
bulky  load,  but  a  good  passageway  be- 
tween horse  stalls  is  a  great  convenience 
anyway. 

This  barn  will  easilv  accommodate  fif- 


J^ROMT    E^LE:v/Kr/o/\/ 


BARN      PLANS 


67 


In  the  driveway  at  one  side  of  the  mix- 
ing room  door  is  a  water  supply  pipe  and 
watering  trough  with  a  hose  connection 


fT 


7~ 


i 


length  of  the  stall  room  on  each  side  of  the 
driveway.  The  first  thickness  of  these 
stall  floors  is  laid  in  hot  tar,  then  two 
thicknesses  of  tar  roofing  felt  is  put  on  be- 


»Ox  -STAi-i. 


] 


iS:OX^TAI_i. 


I  SO^  ■ST^i.L 


SOX^S7AZ.£. 


V^H/CL'E.    T^aO/^ 


riRST  rLooR    PL/\/v 


s3E'co/\/o    rLoon  /P^a/v 


to  supply  water  to  the  wash  room  on  the 
floor  of  the  vehicle  room. 

The  stalls  are  floored  with  a  double 
thickness  of  oak  flooring  one  and  three- 
quarter  inches  thick  slightly  sloping  to 
cast   iron   gutters   which   run   the   entire 


ing  well  mopped  over  with  tar,  and  this 
covered  with  the  upper  thickness  of  oak 
one  and  three-quarter  inch  flooring.  Each 
stall  has  a  hay  chute  from  above  together 
with  a  feed  box  and  salt  box  and  each  stall 
has  a  window  for  light  and  ventilation. 


A  Barn  for  Dairy  Cows^Ai62 


This  cow  barn  is  forty  feet  wide  by  room,  wash  room  for  washing  utensils 
eighty-one  feet  long  and  will  accommo-  and  an  ofiice.  Along  one  side  a  silo  is 
date  twenty-four  cows.     There  is  a  feed     placed  near  the  mixing  room  and  conven- 


68 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


MA 


S. 


ASTTV 

0  33J 

«)n 

OH 

11 

inN 

VlN 

> 

"^     »     I      ■     I     »  -1 — « — I — * — r-^ 


•A3mv    aaaj 


..0  .1©- 


BARN      PLANS 


69 


ient  to  the  feed  alleys  which  in  this  stable 
are  at  the  sides. 

The  manure  gutters  and  floor  for  clean- 
ing is  in  the  center  so  that  in  this  stable 
the  cows  face  outward.  This  arrangement 
makes  it  easier  to  remove  the  manure  and 
the  plan  is  liked  by  some  dairymen. 

The  balloon  roof  construction  makes 
it  possible  to  store  a  great  deal  of  feed  over 
head.  It  leaves  a  clear  space  for  the  horse 
fork  which  works  freely  from  one  end  of 
the  building  to  the  other.  Roofs  like  this 
are  comparatively  new.  The  first  ones 
built  were  not  strong  enough  to  stand 
heavv  winds  and  some  of  them  blew  down, 
but  there  has  been  no  such  trouble  re- 
cently. If  properly  braced  each  side  forms 
a  truss  and  the  two  trusses  meet  together 
at  the  peak. 

There  are  hay  chutes  at  the  sides  for 
putting  down  hay  and  bedding  and  there 
is  a  stairway  at  the  side  of  the  office  for 
convenience  in  getting  up  and  down. 


To  help  out  in  feeding  time  there  should 
be  a  silage  carrier  to  run  from  the  silo 
down  the  different  alleys  to  distribute  tlie 
feed.  If  a  farmer  wants  to  know  the  num- 
ber of  miles  traveled  about  the  stable  it 
is  only  necessary  to  figure  the  number  of 
trips  and  steps  taken  each  feeding  time, 
then  multiply  this  by  the  number  of  feeds 
during  the  winter.  If  every  dairyman 
would  do  this  the  location  of  some  silos 
would  be  changed.  The  amount  of  travel 
will  surprise  those  who  have  never 
thought  about  it.  This  is  one  reason  for 
placing  the  silo  at  the  side. 

The  manure  alley  in  the  center  is  wide 
enough  to  drive  the  manure  spreader 
right  through,  loading  it  in  the  meantime 
so  it  is  not  necessary  to  have  a  pile  of 
manure  outside  of  the  stable.  Manure  is 
worth  a  great  deal  more  when  it  is  drawn 
immediately  from  the  stable  to  the  field. 
This  barn  looks  well  and  it  is  a  good  prac- 
tical barn. 


Small  Carriage  House — A132 


Plan  A 1 32  is  a  small  carriage  house 
which  may  be  built  at  very  little  expense. 
It  often  happens  that  a  man  wants  to  keep 
a  horse  for  his  own  driving  when  he  don't 
care  to  put  a  great  deal  of  expense  on  the 


stable.  It  is  a  mistake  in  such  cases  to 
build  a  cheap  looking  afTair  because  a  man 
is  never  satisfied  with  it  and  it  injures  a 
person's  property.  It  is  just  as  easy  to 
build  an  attractive  stable,  one  that  is  well 


FRony  E.LE.VATion 


5iDe:  E.uE.vA7ion 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


proportioned  and   well  designed   because  There  is  sometimes  more  genuine  satisfac- 

if  rightly  laid  out  it  costs  but  little  more  tion  in  a  cheap  building  well  cared  for  than 

than  a  poor  looking  affair  that  has  a  cheap  in  an  expensive  structure  that  is  permitted 

appearance.     It  is  all  right  to  build  cheap  to  go  to  seed, 
if  nobody  finds  it  out,  but  we  often  see  mis-         The   size   of   this   barn   is   eighteen   by 

T 


HA-T      LOFf 


a 


Floor   Pi-An 

erable  structures  that  give  away  the  own- 
er's ambition. 

Here  is  a  stable  that  costs  very  little  to 
build  but  you  never  would  know  it,  especi- 
ally if  it  is  neatly  painted  and  nicely  kept 
both  inside  and  outside  as  it  should  be. 

Small  Bani  for  a 

This  is  just  a  little  affair,  onl)^  eighteen 
by  twenty  feet,  but  it  is  big  enough  to 
hold  four  horses  and  leave  room  for  a 
wagon  on  the  storage  floor.  There  is  al- 
so loft  enough  to  mow  away  three  or  four 
tons  of  hay.  It  is  not  necessary  to  make 
a  very  deep  foundation  for  a  little  barn 
like  this.  If  the  ground  is  leveled  and 
three  or  four  courses  of  brick  laid  around 
under  the  sills  the  building  will  set  all 
right  probably  for  a  good  many  years. 
Many  small  barns  are  just  blocketd  up 
on  stones  placed  at  the  corners  and  one 
or  two  places  along  the  sides  but  this  is 
objectionable  because  it  makes  a  harbor 
underneath  for  vermin.     The  foundation 


Secohd  Floor 
twenty-four  feet.  Its  attractive  appear- 
ance is  due  more  to  the  shape  of  the  roof 
than  to  the  general  design  or  to  any  other 
one  feature.  All  village  barns  should  be 
placed  carefully  on  the  lot  to  look  well 
and  so  they  will  not  annoy  the  neighbors. 

Village  Lot — Am 


-.SourH       F..i*«g 


BARN      PLANS 


71 


should  have  some  air  but  air  enough  will 
penetrate  through  the  chinks  between  the 
bricks  if  thev  are  laid  without  mortar. 


Storage 


5TALL 


STALL 


TiR&T  Flo  OF? 
The  construction  of  this  little  barn  is 
about  as  plain  and  simple  as  it  could  be 
and  still  have  it  look  right  when  finished. 
Nobody  likes  a  cheap  looking  building, 
but  no  one  objects  to  a  good  looking  build- 
ing if  they  get  it  cheap.  The  problem  is 
how  to  build  what  will  be  satisfactory  in 
a  few  years'  time.  Sometimes  an  inexpen- 
sive building  may  be  shaded  with  trees  or 
screened  by  vines  in  such  a  way  as  to  give 
it  a  presentable  appearance  even  in  winter. 
An  evergreen  or  two  plahted  along  the 
side,  if  there  is  plenty  of  room,  makes  a 


great  winter  addition  to  the  looks  of  a 
stable.  Grape  vines  usually  do  well  if  sus- 
pended by  wires  from  the  eaves,  but  grape 


>SECOf^o    Floor    - 

vines  should  never  be  tacked  close 
side  of  a  building,  they  need  air 
sides. 


to  the 
on  all 


A  Cheap  Hog  House — A122 


The  cheapest  kind  of  a  hog  house  is 
shown  in  plan  (A132.)  It  is  only  seven 
feet  six  inches  wide,  but  it  may  be  any 
length.  This  house  is  thirty-one  feet  six 
inches  long  because  this  length  is  covered 
by  two  sixteen  foot  joists.  Even  on  well 
regulated  hog  farms  where  there  is  a  good 


solid  hog  house  this  shed  afifair  will  be 
found  useful  to  hold  the  overflow.  It  of- 
ten happens  that  shoats  in  fall  are  kept 
in  a  muddy  feed  lot  or  sold  too  soon  for 
lack  of  just  such  shelter  as  this  to  hold 
them  while  being  finished.  Beginners  in 
the  hog  business  could  not  do  better  than 


72 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


to  build  a  little  cheap  hog  house  like  this 
to  start  with. 

The  seven  and  one-half  foot  width  per- 
mits of  roofing  the  shed  with  sixteen  foot 
boards  cut  in  two  in  the  middle.    Each  six- 


of  the,  building  and  the  floor  boards  run 
crosswise  and  slant  back  for  easy  cleaning. 
A  space  is  left  between  the  floor  boards 
and  the  boarding  at  the  back  so  a  scraper 
may  be  used.     In  cold  weather  this  space 


■  i 

"^"^ 

f^ 

1 

■\ 

1 

i. 

^ 

==i=E=: 

1 

3/'& 


/==^/J/V  /9A//P  J^CT/OA/  OF  //OG    A/OL3£ 


\  ^ce-o"^  ^os  rj 


^' 


teen  foot  section  will  make  two  pens  near- 
ly eight  feet  square  which  will  hold  from 
five  to  seven  or  eight  pigs  according  to 
size.  The  posts  are  just  set  into  the  ground 
and  the  floor  raised  about  a  foot  to  keep  it 
dry.  Four  two  by  six  joists  run  lengthwise 


is  closed  by  a  hinged  board  which  drops 
down  on  the  inside.  This  precaution  is 
necessary  because  a  cold  draft  on  the  floor 
is  a  very  bad  thing  for  hogs.  This  little 
hog  house  don't  run  into  very  much  money 
but  it  is  a  very  useful,  practical  aff^air. 


A  Small  Carriage  House — A131 


A  small  carriage  house  with  stable  room 
for  two  horses  or  a  horse  and  a  cow  is  a 
very  convenient  thing  when  a  person  has 
a  good  sized  lot  in  the  city  or  village.     \ 


cow  appreciates  comfort  and  will  give 
enough  more  milk  to  pay  for  it.  Of  course 
a  cow  in  a  horse  stall  needs  plenty  of  bed- 
ding, but  where  only  one  cow  is  kept  it 
is  easy  enough  to  furnish  all  the  litter  nec- 
essary. 

There  are  a  good  many  designs  for  small 
carriage  houses,  some  of  which  are  decid- 
edly homely.  A  good  many  of  the  fancy 
buildings   are  too  expensive.     Here  is  a 


s/oc  CLCir//r/oA/ 


horse  stall  makes  a  splendid  stall  for  a 
cow,  better  than  what  is  ordinarily  de- 
signed for  a  cow  stall  because  there  is 
more  room  and  it  gives  more  comfort.    A 


r/fONT    CLCI/'/fT/ON 


BARN      PLANS 


73 


comparatively  cheap  structure,  but  it  is 
all  right  for  looks  and  it  is  a  convenient 
stable  to  do  work  in.    There  is  a  hav  chute 


corner  of  the  mangers  for  grain  and  other 
feeds. 

A  carriage  house  like  this  may  have  a 


SCCOA/O    FLOOR 


which  reaches  from  the  loft  to  the  manger 
below  with  openings  for  both  stalls,  which 
is  a  very  convenient  arrangement  and  is 
worth  a  good  deal  just  to  keep  the  hay  dust 
and  chaff  out  of  the  horse's  mane  and  fore 
top.     It  also  leaves  the  feed  boxes  in  the 


Some  kind  of  a  cattle  shed  is  necessary 
in  connection  with  every  feed  lot.  Plan 
(A123)  shows  a  cattle  shed  ninety  feet 
long  and  ten  feet  six  inches  wide.  It  is 
built  of  two  by  fours  for  framing,  covered 
with  boards  twelve  feet  and  sixteen  feet 
long  which  cut  to  advantage  without 
waste  except  at  the  ends. 

There  is  a  low-down  manger  which  runs 
the  full  length  of  the  shed  against  the 
back  wall.  The  front  side  of  the  manger 
is  bedded  in  the  ground  which  together 
with  a  little  banking  on  the  outside  pre- 
vents the  cold  winds  from  blowing  under. 
Some  feeders  fail  to  realize  the  importance 
of  this  precaution.  The  north  wind  seems 
much  colder  when  it  forces  through  a 
small  opening.  There  is  something  about 
the  bottom  of  a  shed  that  seems  to  invite 


plank  floor  or  the  floor  may  be  left  out  en- 
tirely and  the  ground  leveled  up  with  cin- 
ders except  the  stalls  and  the  very  best 
stall  floor  is  made  of  stiff  clay  pounded 
in  wet.  Some  of  the  most  successful 
horsemen  prefer  a  clay  bottom  stall. 

Cheap  Cattle  Shed— A123 

a  current  of  air  from  the  north,  but  this 
feed  manger  arrangement   seems  to  get 


74 

the  better  of.  Mangers  should  be  low  for 
another  reason.  For  thousands  of  years 
cattle  have  been  accustomed  to  feed  from 
the  ground.     While  in  pastures  they  keep 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


The  shed  is  supported  by  short  cedar 
posts  which  are  set  well  into  the  ground, 
the  tops  of  them  being  cut  almost  even 
with   the   surface.    The   doors   are   made 


rw^cir/f 


i 


SECTION     /7/V/7   fLHN    OF   C/fTr/.E   ■S»€0 

their  heads  down  nearly  all  of  the  time, 
but  for  some  unaccountable  reason  they 
are  expected  to  hold  their  heads  two  or 
three  feet  high  when  being  fed  artificially. 


wide  enough  and  high  enough  to  get  in 
easily  with  a  manure  spreader,  and  there 
are  no  posts  or  partitions  in  the  way  so 
that  it  is  easy  to  clean  out  the  manure. 


Ice  House  Design — A162 


An  ice  house  to  hold  two  hundred  tons 
of  ice  is  given  in  this  plan.  This  ice  house 
was  built  on  a  large  dairy  farm  near  a 
good  sized  village.  Some  seasons  the 
farmer  sells  considerable  ice  to  the  village 
at  paying  prices. 

The  building  is  twenty  feet  wide  by 
thirty  feet  long  and  sixteen  feet  high  to 
the  eaves.  When  completely  filled  it 
would  hold  about  two  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-five tons. 

The  exterior  is  finished  with  drop  sid- 
ing and  a  stained  shingle  roof.  Next  to 
the  siding  is  a  layer  of  building  paper,  in- 
side of  this  and  nailed,  to  the  outside  row 
of  two  by  four  studding  is  matched  ceiling 
of  good  quality.  Then  comes  a  dead  air 
space  four  inches  thick.  Next  is  a  layer  of 
hair  felt  seven-eights  of  an  inch  thick 
nailed  to  the  inner  edges  of  the  four-inch 
studding;  inside  the  hair  felt  is  another 
matched  ceiling  of  narrow  pine  sheathing, 
then  another  row  of  two  by  four  studding 
lined  on  the  inside  again  with  another 
boarding  of  matched  pine  sheathing,  then 
an  inch  of  block  mineral  wool,  and  this  is 
protected  on  the  inside  with  another  board- 


ing of  matched  soft  pine  sheathing  nailed 
to  furring  strips.  All  this  work  is  very 
carefully  done  to  prevent  so  far  as  possible 
the  slightest  air  connection  between  the 
diflferent  spaces.  It  is  recognized  that  a 
dead  air  space  is  the  best  possible  non- 
conductor of  heat  or  cold. 

There  are  six  doors  and  they  are  just 
as  carefully  made  as  the  siding.  The  de- 
tail drawing  shows  how  they  are  fitted. 
Inside  of  the  doors  the  opening  is  further 
closed  and  sealed  by  a  double  thickness 
of  loose  inch  boards,  which  fit  into  the 
grooves  and  are  laid  to  break  joints. 
These  boards  are  put  in  place  as  the  filling 
proceeds  and  are  taken  out  one  at  a  time 
as  the  ice  lowers  in  summer. 

The  ceiling  over  the  ice  is  just  as  care- 
fully constructed  as  other  parts  of  the 
building  and  the  space  over  the  ceiling  is 
kept  cool  by  a  ventilator  in  each  gable  end 
and  another  ventilator  in  the  roof. 

All  these  details  are  very  important  but 
they  are  not  more  important  than  the  cov- 
ering for  the  ice,  which  should  be  of  saw 
dust  if  it  is  possible  to  get  it. 

An  interesting  feature  of  this  house  is 


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76 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


the  simple  elevator  to  be  used  in  filling. 
It  is  a  double  gig  elevator  so  arranged 
that  one  gig  goes  up  as  the  horse  walks 
in  one  direction,  and  as  the  horse  walks 


in  the  other  direction  the  first  gig  lowers 
and  the  second  one  goes  up.  Perhaps  this 
is  the  quickest  arrangement  made  for  the 
purpose,  considering  its  simplicity. 


A  Large  Bank  Barn — A166 


A  bank  barn  is  very  desirable  where  a 
suitable  location  can  be  found  but  some 
bank  barns  are  very  inconvenient  and  oth- 
ers are  damp  and  musty  because  the  barn 
is  not  built  right.  It  is  not  absolutely  nec- 
essary to  build  a  bank  barn  just  because 
there  is  a  hill  on  the  farm.  It  is  much  bet- 
ter to  pick  out  a  plan  which  is  suitable  for 


the  location  than  to  blindly  follow  the  lead 
of  some  other  farmer.  A  barn  that  is  all 
right  on  one  farm  may  be  all  wrong  on  the 
next  farm,  so  much  depends  on  the  use 
made  of  it,  the  kind  of  farming  and  the 
lay  of  the  land. 

This  bank  barn  is  30  feet  wide  by  70 
feet  long  with  a  basement  full  size.     The 


FRAMING  AT  END 


BARN      PLANS 


17 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


BARN      PLANS 
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RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


walls  of  the  basement  are  of  stone  and  the 
upper  structure  is  heavy  frame  work 
braced  in  such  a  way  that  a  horse  fork 
could  be  used  in  the  peak  with  a  track 
clear  from  obstruction  extending  from  one 
gable  to  the  other. 

There  is  no  objection  to  making  this 
wall  of  cement  or  concrete  if  stone  is 
scarce  or  if  for  any  other  reason  a  farmer 
prefers  cement  construction.  This  barn 
is  placed  side  ways  to  the  bank  and  has 
two  bridges  leading  to  what  is  commonly 
termed  a  double  threshing  floor  on  a  level 
with  the  ground  on  the  upper  side.  There 
are  two  doors  on  the  opposite  or  south  side 
of  the  barn  but  they  are  designed  merely 
as  openings  for  light  and  air  as  occasion 
requires  and  to  run  the  carriers  out  when 
threshing.  It  is  intended  to  build  the  straw 
stack  in  the  yard  on  this  lower  side  of  tlie 
barn. 

The  basement  is  partitioned  ofi:"  into  sta- 
bles for  six  horses  and  twenty  head  of  cat- 
tle as  shown  in  the  basement  plan. 

In  building  a  barn  like  this  it  is  neces- 
sary to  use  heavv  timbers  over  the  stable 


and  to  support  them  with  good  solid  posts 
with  good  stone  foundation  or  thoroughly 
well  constructed  cement  footings  solid 
enough  to  prevent  settling.  A  good  many 
such  barns  give  considerable  trouble  in 
this  respect  but  not  necessarily  so  because 
it  is  easy  to  make  them  right  in  the  first 
place. 

In  all  stock  barns,,  but  especially  where 
stock  is  kept  in  the  basement,  ventilation 
is  of  prime  importance.  This  barn  has 
two  ventilators  extending  through  the 
roof  at  the  peak. 

For  convenience  in  feeding  there  are 
two  chutes  running  down  from  the  hay 
mow  to  the  feed  alleys  on  the  stable  floor. 
The  double  threshing  floor  leaves  consid- 
erable room  for  storage  of  farm  imple- 
ments which  is  very  important  on  most 
farms.  Where  the  land  slants  like  this 
the  barn  yard  usually  is  dry  but  probably 
a  little  tile  draining  helps  every  yard.  We 
seldom  see  a  barn  yard  dry  enough  in  the 
fall  and  spring.  It  is  well  to  consider  all 
these  side  issues  when  selecting  the  site 
to  build  on. 


Stable  and  Graiiarv — A130 


A  cheap  little  stable  and  granary  with 
considerable  loft  room  may  be  built  after 
plan  (A130).  It  is  twenty-one  by  thirty- 
four  feet,  including  the  implement  shed  at 
the  end.  This  little  barn  is  intended  for 
a  small  farm  where  a  little  grain  is  grown 
and  fed  to  horses  that  are  used  partly  for 
farm  work  and  partly  perhaps  for  teaming 
for  hire. 

There  is  an  eight  foot  ceiling  over  the 
stable  and  over  the  grain  bins  and  a  ten 
foot  ceiling  over  the  machinery  room,  be- 
cause a  stable  is  warmer  with  a  low  ceiling 
and  eight  feet  is  not  high  enough  to  ac- 
commodate all  kinds  of  farm  machinery. 

On   some  small   farms  this  shed   room 


would  not  be  necessary  for  storage  pur- 
poses, but  it  would  be  very  handy  to  drive 
loads  in  at  night  for  safe  keeping.  The 
opposite  doors  make  it  very  handy  to  drive 
through,  which  is  much  better  than  being 
obliged  to  back  out  with  a  heavy  load. 
The  grain  bins  are  also  filled  from  this 
shed  by  drawing  the  sacks  directly  from 
the  threshing  machine  and  dumping 
through  the  openings  shown  in  the  plan. 
Each  opening  is  three  feet  square  and  is 
closed  with  a  swinging  sash  fitted  with 
four  lights  of  glass. 

This  little  barn  is  quite  different  from 
the  ordinary,  but  it  is  not  necessary  to 
build  a  barn  just  exactly  like  some  other 


BARN      PLANS 


83 


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84 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 

Small  Barn  with  Ell  Shed— A163 


A  small  barn  with  an  ell  shed  attached  ments.  The  whole  of  the  second  floor  is 
is  shown  in  this  design.  The  barn  proper  given  over  to  storage  for  hay  or  grain  in 
which  is  28  feet  wide  by  56  feet  long  is  in-     the  sheaf. 


SIDE  ELEVATION 

tended  to  accommodate  five  head  of  horses  A  hay  bay  extends  from  the  ground  to 
in  about  one-third  of  the  floor  space  leav-  the  roof  in  one  end  of  the  building  but  a 
ing  the  other  part  for  a  driveway  with  floor  extends  over  the  stable  and  the  great- 
storage  for  grain,  hay  and  farming  irnple-     er  part  of  the  threshing  floor.    The  thresh- 


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CONSTRUCTION  OF  SHED 


BARN      PLANS 


85 


ing  floor  sectic'n  may  be  partitioned  ott 
from  the  horse  stable  to  mc'ke  the  stable 
warmer. 

The  shed  forms  an  L  runninsr  across  the 


TRANSVERSE  SECTION 


north  and  west  sides  of  the  barn  yard 
leaving  the  south  side  open  to  the  sun. 
This  arrangement  breaks  the  north  and 
the  west  wind  and  provides  a  comfortable 
barn  yard  for  winter. 

Stalls  for  12  cows  are  built  in  the  north 
shed  by  putting  two  cows  in  each  stall. 
This  shed  has  a  cement  floor  built  like  a 
sidewalk  and  the  floor  extends  out  under 
the  projecting  roof  which  comes  over  a 
few  feet  into  the  yard  forming  a  protec- 
tion against  rain  and  snow. 

It  is  something  that  every  barn  yard 
should  have  because  there  are  times  where 
the  yard  is  wet  and  muddy  in  spite  of  ev- 
ery precaution.  A  wide  roof  dripping  into 
a  barn  yard  is  objectionable  but  the  drip 
from  this  little  short  roof  is  insignificant. 

The  other  part  of  the  shed  is  open  to  the 
weather  on  the  east  side  looking  towards 
the  barn,  an  arrangement  that  makes 
about  as  comfortable  a  barn  yard  as  is  pos- 


a 


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SECTION  THROUGH  SHED 


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THPesH/no  ruooR 


"'^^  i.  8'    o' 


86 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


sible  to  obtain  without  roofing  the  whole 
thing. 

This  little  barn  with  shed  attachment 
is  not  expensive  but  is  more  convenient 
than  some  larger  structures.  The  cost  is 
within  the  reach  of  any  farmer  although 


he  may  not  have  more  than  20  acres  of 
land.  A  transverse  section  is  shown  giv- 
ing a  good  idea  of  how  the  building  is 
framed.  It  is  a  strong  frame  that  is  eas- 
ily put  together  and  there  is  no  waste  of 
timber. 


Inexpensive   Poultr}^  House — A170 


A  cheap  little  poultry  house  is  shown  in 
this  design.  It  is  ten  feet  square  on  the 
ground,  the  front  is  eight  feet  and  the 
rear  five  feet  high.  Where  only  from  ten 
to  twenty  hens  are  kept  this  little  house 
will  be  found  very  useful.  The  only  open- 
ings are  a  door  in  the  east  side,  the  large 


dow  shade  roller,  so  that  it  may  be  pulled 
down  over  the  opening  on  cold  days  and 
rolled  up  when  the  sun  shines  warm. 
Such  a  curtain  should  be  thin  enough  to 
let  the  air  through  freely.  It  is  a  splendid 
ventilator  for  a  poultry  house  because  it 
lets  the  air  in  and  out  gently  without  any 


DESIGN  FOR  AN  INEXPENSIVE   CITY  POULTRY  HOUSE 


PcRsptcriVE.    View 


window  on  the  south  side  and  the  little 
door  to  permit  poultry  to  pass  in  and  out. 
A  little  house  like  this  can  be  built  if  so 
desired  without  so  much  as  a  frame,  ex- 
cept two  by  fours  at  the  top  and  bottom 
to  nail  the  boards  to  and  another  piece  of 
two  by  four  for  the  door  and  window 
frames.  The  window  frame  consists  of  a 
two  by  four  at  the  bottom  and  another 
two  by  four  at  the  top,  spaced  to  hold  the 
sashes  in  such  a  way  as  to  permit  them 
to  pass  back  to  leave  the  opening  free.  It 
is  a  good  plan  to  have  a  wire  netting  over 
the  window  outside  and  a  muslin  curtain 
inside.     A  curtain  may  roll  up  on  a  win- 


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DROPPING    Boards 

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riG.  2 

Ground    Plan. 

11                                        1 

draft.  Some  poultry  houses  are  built 
without  glass,  thin  muslin  being  depended 
on  for  both  light  and  air.  Such  houses  are 
usually  dry  and  it  is  well  known  that  a 
poultry  house  must  be  dry  or  the  fowls 
won't  do  well. 

A  poultry  house  like  this  nuist  have  a 
good  floor.  One  of  the  greatest  annoy- 
ances in  poultry  keeping  is  to  have  rats 
burrow  underneath.  Rats  prefer  a  poul- 
try house  to  any  other  building  because 
there  is  always  feed  around  that  they  can 
get  and  there  is  always  water.  Rats  like 
eggs  too,  and  they  have  been  known  to 
sample  young  chickens,  but  it  is  easy  to 


BARN      PLANS 


87 


block  them  out  of  a  poultry  house  by  mak- 
ing a  concrete  floor.  Concrete  for  this 
purpose  may  be  pretty  much  all  sand  and 
gravel.  Most  any  kind  of  a  composition 
will  answer  the  purpose.    A  little  lime  and 


a  little  cement,  or  lime  without  cement, 
or  cement  without  lime  mixed  up  with 
water  in  most  any  proportion  will  do  the 
business.  It  should  be  pounded  in  and 
come  up  about  even  with  the  sill. 


A  Tower  Tank  House — A145 


Where  a  water  pressure  is  wanted  it  is 
often  a  good  plan  to  put  the  water  tank 
in  the  windmill  tower.  In  plan  (A145) 
the  tank  is  shown  in  the  dotted  lines.  It 
is  placed  ten  feet  above  the  ground  and  the 
tank  itself  is  fourteen  feet  high  by  ten  feet 
in  diameter  at  the  bottom. 

In  placing  a  tank  like  this  it  is  necessary 
to  carry  a  three  inch  pipe  through  the  tank 
and  pass  the  pump  shaft  through  this  pipe. 
The  pipe  is  screwed  into  a  flange  at  the 
bottom  and  the  flange  is  bolted  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  tank  to  make  it  thoroughly 
water  tight.  The  pipe  must  be  steadied 
at  the  top  and  the  shaft  must  have  a  bear- 
ing, both,  above  the  tank  and  below  it  so 
it  won't  scrape  on  the  pipe.  The  well  and 
pump  of  course  are  directly  under  the  tank 
in  the  center  of  the  tower. 

The  outside  boarding  is  made  double 
and  lined  with  paper  to  be  warm  in  winter. 

There  is  generally  some  drip  from  a 
tank  placed  like  this  for  which  reason  the 
room  below  is  seldom  made  use  of  for  any 
purpose,  but  a  few  farmers  have  utilized 
this  room  for  a  bath  room.  They  make  a 
cement  bottom  with  a  drain  to  carry  oflF 
the  surplus  water  and  put  in  a  shower  bath 
connected  with  a  pipe  from  the  tank.  A 
shower  bath  is  the  most  convenient  and 
probably  the  most  healthful  of  any  kind 
of  a  bath.  At  any  rate  it  is  easily  kept 
clean. 

There  is  no  reason  why  a  farmer  or  his 
men  should  be  denied  the  privilege  of  get- 
ting a  bath  when  they  want  it.  There  are 
bath  rooms  in  almost  all  city  houses  and 


there  should  be  bathing  conveniences  on 
every  farm.  By  placing  a  stove  in  this 
room  under  the  tank  it  could  be  made  com- 


TNNH     House 


88 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


fortable  in  winter  as  well  as  summer,  and 
a  stove  with  a  water  heater  attached  to 
the  tank  would  give  a  water  pressure  so 
that  the  shower  could  be  made  any  tem- 
perature desired. 

The  height  of  this  tower  is  forty  feet 


to  the  wind  mill.  Of  course  the  height  of 
a  wind  mill  tower  must  depend  upon  its 
location.  If  the  tower  is  built  on  high 
ground  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  up  so  high 
unless  the  wind  mill  is  surrounded  by 
high  buildings  or  trees. 


Small  Carriage  House — A135 


The  little  barn,  eighteen  by  twenty-four 
feet,  as  shown  in  the  plans  and  elevations 
is  a  very  appropriate  design  and  can  be  used 


•3W£  £Lri^/7r/ON 


in  either  village  or  city.  It  is  not  expen- 
sive, in  fact,  it  is  probably  as  cheap  as  any 
satisfactory  structure  could  be.  It  is  bet- 
ter not  to  take  up  room  in  such  a  small 


barn  in  building  a  stairway,  as  the  upright 
ladder  placed  against  one  of  the  partitions 
answers  the  purpose  very  well.  To  keep 
the  cold  from  blowing  down  through  the 
opening  a  light  door  with  a  pulley,  cord 
and  counter  weight  may  be  made  to  shut 
over  the  opening. 

If  there  is  a  boy  in  the  family  he  will 
find  a  way  to  rig  up  a  work  bench  in  the 
front  corner  of  the  carriage  room  between 
the  door  and  the  first  window.     It  is  easy 


r/?o/^r  £L£:K^r/OA/ 


/^//?sr  r/.oo/f  /='^/7A/ 


to  encourage  boys  to  work  with  tools,  es- 
pecially since  the  graded  schools  have 
taken  up  manual  training.  The  schools 
have  added  tone  to  the  work,  boys  don't 
consider  it  labor  now,  it  is  part  of  their 
education  and  it  is  an  important  part,  too. 
Truth  may  be  taught  in  a  more  thorough 
manner  through  mechanics  than  by  any 
other  means.  The  principle  of  learning 
a  thing  by  doing  it  is  just  as  valuable  now 
as  it  was  in  Froebel's  time. 


BARN      PLANS 


As  a  general  thing  a  boy's  work  with 
tools  is  not  very  valuable  when  judged 
from  a  mechanical  standpoint  or  from  the 
amount  of  money  that  the  finished  product 
would  bring,  but  it  very  often  has  a  great 
educational  value  to  a  boy  that  is  little 
appreciated  by  the  older  members  of  the 
family.  The  fundamental  principles  of 
mechanics  permeate  all  nature.  Animals 
are  built  on  the  best  mechanical  principles. 


There  is  a  very  close  connection  between 
mechanics  and  nature.  Mechanics  point 
the  way  to  the  connecting  link  between 
natural  phenomena  and  commercial  suc- 
cess. Mechanics  and  mathematics  also 
are  very  closely  related,  but  the  natural 
live  boy  loves  the  one  and  hates  the  other. 
No  woman  wants  a  boy  tinkering  in  the 
house,  but  he  can  spend  many  happy  hours 
in  the  barn  without  disturbing  anvone. 


A  Neat  Carriage  House — A114 


A  very  neat  carriage  house  is  shown  in 
plan  (A114).  It  is  intended  to  house  two 
horses  and  have  room  enough  for  a  couple 
of  carriages.     The  building  is  supported 


rffONT   CL£y>fr/o/v 


by  a  stone  wall  three  feet  in  the  ground 
and  one  foot  above  ground  to  keep  the 
floor  well  up,  but  the  height  of  course  must 
depend  on  the  nature  of  the  ground  and 
location  in  reference  to  the  street  and 
driveway.  It  is  not  desirable  to  approach 
the  main  doorway  by  a  very  steep  bridge 
because  it  is  often  necessary  to  run  car- 
riages out  and  in  by  hand.  Of  course  if 
it  is  necessary  to  set  the  floor  up  the  drive- 
way may  be  raised  accordingly,  this  how- 
ever very  often  runs  into  considerable  ex- 
pense. 

The   way   a   driveway   approaches   the 
stable  afifects  the  appearance  of  the  stable 


a  good  deal.  Generally  a  pleasing  effect 
may  be  obtained  by  a  curved  driveway 
where  it  is  kept  neatly  trimmed  at  the 
sides.  If  the  driveway  is  gently  rounded 
and  the  edges  kept  about  two  inches  low- 
er than  the  sod  it  is  easy  to  maintain  a 
clean  track  and  a  well  defined  edge  with- 
out putting  a  whole  lot  of  unnecessary 
work  on  it.  The  lawn  mower  will  trim 
the  grass  and  a  spade  used  once  a  month 
will  keep  the  edge  of  the  drive  in  good 
shape. 

The  floor  of  this  carriage  house  is  made 


solid  by  running  a  heavy  girder  lengthwise 
of  the  building  through  the  center.  Joists 
are  carried  from  the  sills  to  meet  the  gird- 
er.   The  floor  is  double,  the  first  layer  be- 


90 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


ing  an  inch  thick  dressed  on  one  side  to 
make  the  boards  even  in  thickness,  is  laid 
diagonally.  On  top  of  this  is  laid  a  layer 
of  felt  roofing  topped  with  tar,  both  under- 


in  the  length  of  the  stall.  These  planks 
are  nailed  to  one  cross  piece  in  the  middle 
and  another  cross  piece  a  little  thicker  un- 
der the  manger,  but  the  nailing  is  not  very 


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neath  and  on  top.    The  upper  floor  is  one 

and  three-eighths  matched  hard  pine.  solid    because    stable    planks    soon    wear 

In  the  stalls  two  inch  planks  are  laid  through  and  it  is  necessary  to  turn  them 

lengthwise,  having  an  incline  of  two  inches  end  for  end,  sometimes  within  a  year. 

Hay  and  Grain  Barn — A167 


A  long  barn  designed  to  hold  a  good 
deal  of  hay  and  grain  is  shown  in  this  illus- 
tration. It  is  a  timber  frame  covered  with 
eight  inch  drop  siding  and  shingles. 

The  track  for  the  hay  fork  is  suspended 
from  the  peak  by  seven-eighth  inch  iron 


rods  and  the  track  extends  the  whole 
length  of  the  building  and  projects  several 
feet  at  each  end.  This  arrangement  makes 
it  convenient  to  fill  the  barn  from  either 
end  or  from  both  ends  as  occasion  re- 
quires.    There   is  a   driveway   crosswise 


SIDE  ELEVATION 


BARN      PLANS 


91 


through  the  barn  at  the  center.  This  drive-  farmers  prefer  to  have  it  convenient  to 
way  is  floored  with  a  two  inch  plank  floor,  the  fields  because  it  is  never  used  for 
but  it  is  not  necessary  to  floor  the  other     housing  stock  unless  it  be  sheep  and  they 


LONGITUDINAL  SECTION 


1 

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FLOOR  PLAN 


part  of  the  building  except  with  round 
poles  to  keep  the  hay  and  grain  sheaves 
off  the  ground.  Such  a  barn  is  intended 
more  for  storage  on  large  farms  where 
considerable  grain  is  harvested  and  hay 
cut  either  to  feed  or  for  sale. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  have  such  a  barn 
near    the    other    farm    buildings.    Many 


don't  require  quite  such  frequent  atten- 
tion as  other  animals. 

The  cross  center  floor  is  intended  for 
threshing,  but  there  is  no  provision  for 
storing  threshed  grain.  It  is  supposed  that 
there  is  a  granary  near  the  house  and  oth- 
er buildings  and  it  is  better  to  haul  the 
grain  from  the  machine. 


A   Double  Corn   Crib — A120 


A  double  corn  crib  with  a  storage  room 
overhead  and  a  driveway  in  the  center  is 
shown    in    this    illustration.      A    peculiar 


feature  of  this  plan  is  the  siding  which  is 
split  from  two  by  fours  with  a  band  saw 
in  such  a  way  as  to  get  three  pieces  of  sid- 


92 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


ing  from  one  strip.  After  the  siding  is 
ripped  out  it  is  run  through  a  sticker  to 
give  the  curve  as  shown  in  the  the  detail 
drawing.      This    is    an    extra    protection 


strong  enough  to  hold  the  corn  by  being 
well  nailed  with  wire  nails  on  the  outside 
of  the  studding  which  is  placed  twenty- 
four  inches  apart.     It  is  impossible  to  get 


£L£^/7r/OA/ 


,  \S£:CT/0/V\  I 

1^  6  <r/r/7/7/p  /'osr(  I 


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against  beating  storms  and  it  is  supposed 
to  encourage  a  draft  of  fresh  air  up 
through  each  opening  for  the  benefit  of 
the  corn.  The  strips  are  nearly  an  inch 
thick    on    the    lower   edge    making    them 


corn  enough  into  a  crib  of  this  height  to 
break  the  slats  or  shove  them  out.  Corn 
cribs  should  not  be  more  than  six  feet 
wide  because  corn  will  mould  in  a  crib 
that  is  too  wide. 


BARN      PLANS 


93 


The  driveway  in  the  center  of  a  crib 
like  this  is  very  useful.  There  is  room 
for  a  wagon  or  two  and  there  may  be  pegs 
to  hang  a  great  many  farm  implements 
such  as  neck-yokes,  extra  whiffle-trees, 
chains  and  hand  tools  of  all  kinds.  The 
loft  overhead  makes  good  storage  for  lum- 
ber and  there  is  no  better  place  for  seed 
corn  than  to  hang  it  by  wires  from  the 
collar  beams.  The  tin  pans  turned  up-side- 
down  over  the  tops  of  the  cedar  posts  will 


bother  the  rats  most  of  the  time,  although 
they  sometimes  find  a  way  to  get  in.  Prob- 
ably carelessness  in  leaning  something 
against  the  crib  helps  them  up  in  the  ma- 
jority of  cases.  Rats  and  mice  are  often 
carried  into  the  crib  with  the  corn.  They 
are  sharp  enough  to  get  into  a  bushel  crate 
and  stay  there  until  they  are  carried  in- 
side. In  this  way  a  farmer  often  populates 
his  own  corn  crib  with  rats  or  mice  with- 
out intending  to. 


A  Small  Wagon  Shed— A108 


A  wagon  shed  twenty  feet  wide  and 
forty  feet  long  like  the  one  in  the  plan 
illustrated  is  a  useful  building  on  every 
farm.     One   thing  is   important  about   a 


fo/ro^  J/0//VC 


^£CT/OAf 


wagon  shed,  and  that  is  to  have  the  en- 
trance wide  enough  to  get  things  in  and 
out  easily  and  quickly.  This  double  door 
gives  an  opening  ten  feet  wide,  which  is 
very  good  for  small  implements,  but  some 
binders  require  about  sixteen.  The  door 
entering  an  implement  shed  m.ust  be  high 
enough  to  let  in  the  highest  implements 
used  on  the  farm,  and  there  must  be  no 
cross  timbers  inside  lower  than  the  top  of 
the  door.  A  binder  with  a  reel  on  takes 
considerable  room. 

The  farmer  building  the  shed  will  know 
whether  he  wants  to  house  a  binder  under 
full  sail  or  whether  he  wants  to  take  it 


apart,  and  will,  of  course,  build  a  doorway 
accordingly. 

Implement  sheds  like  all  other  buildings 
should  be  designed  for  what  is  to  be  re- 
quired of  them.  An  implement  shed  is  a 
necessity  on  every  farm,  but  some  farmers 
want  to  house  threshing  machines  and 
traction  engines,  while  others  want  a  shed 
to  hold  mowers,  plows,  cultivators,  a 
wagon  or  two,  and  perhaps  a  few  barrels 
and  other  truck.  A  large  building,  of 
course,  would  answer  for  everything,  but 
it  is  not  necessary  to  build  bigger  than  a 
man  wants. 

A  grood  manv  tool  houses  are  built  with- 


f^i.OOft    /=^/7/V  O^  Ir^/fGO. 


out  floors,  but  the  extra  cost  of  the  floor 
is  more  than  offset  by  the  dryness  and 
freedom  from  rust  on  the  machinery. 
Wagons  and  machinery  require  repairing, 
which  is  easily  done  in  a  building  like  this 
when  you  have  a  good  floor  to  work  on. 


94 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


Odd   days    in    winter   may   be   profitably     penter's  tools,  a  paint  brush  and  an  as- 
spent  in  such  a  building  with  a  few  car-     sortment  of  paints  and  oils. 

Two  Small  Ice  Houses — A103,  Ai04 


There  are  two  requisites  in  all  ice 
houses  that  must  be  considered.  The  first 
and  most  important  is  drainage.  There  is 
a   constant   drip   from    ice    during   warm 


weather,  and  if  this  is  permitted  to  ac- 
cumulate it  will  melt  the  ice  very  fast,  but 
if  carried  away  as  fast  as  it  comes  it  can 
do  no  harm.  The  second  is  the  roof.  You 
must  have  a  roof  tight  enough  to  keep 
the  ice  dry  on  top.  This  is  because  the 
dripping  of  the  water  through  a  leaky  roof 
will  bore  holes  through  the  sawdust  and 
let  tlTe  air  down  to  the  ice. 

Sawdust  is  the  best  covering  to  keep 
ice,  Init  marsh  hay  is  a  close  second.  The 
reason  why  marsh  hay  is  better  than  tame 
hay  or  straw  is  because  the  shell  of  the 
stalk  is  tougher  and  thinner;  when  it  gets 
damp  it  mats  down  closely  and  keeps  the 
air  from  the  ice. 

No  matter  what  kind  of  a  house  you 
may  have,  you  will  find  it  necessary  to 
])ay  some  attention  to  the  ice  during  the 
spring  and  summer.  In  the  best  of  houses 
ice  melts  and  settles.  As  it  settles,  cracks 
arc  made  in  the  sawdust  which  must  be 
inniicfli.-itclv  filled  or  serious  loss  will  re- 


sult. In  the  spring  the  ice  house  should 
be  entered  at  least  once  a  week  and  the 
sawdust  tamped  down  all  around  the 
edges  until  it  is  solid.  A  foot  of  solid 
sawdust  all  around  the  ice  will  keep  it 
splendidly. 

Experienced  builders  of  ice  houses  seem 
to  favor  cheap  floors.  Poles  or  rails  cov- 
ered with  straw  from  four  to  six  inches 
deep  and  this  straw  covered  with  a  foot 
of  sawdust  before  putting  in  the  ice  makes 
about  as  good  a  bottom  as  you  can  have. 
Very  expensive  ice  house  floors  have  been 
discarded  in  favor  of  this  cheap  afi^air. 

Another  point  to  consider  in  building 
an   ice  house  is   to  have   plenty  of  head 


-/jz-a- 


T 


/^^/r/V  0/=-  /C/T  //Ol/6£ 


room.  The  best  form  of  a  block  of  ice  is 
square  and  as  high  as  it  is  wide.  A  couple 
of  feet  extra  in  height  is  a  very  good  pre- 


BARN      PLANS 


95 


caution.  A  house  twelve  feet  square  and 
twelve  feet  high  to  the  eaves  leaves  room 
for  a  block  of  ice  ten  feet  square  and 
twelve  feet  high  if  you  lay  the  ice  up  to 


the  plan  illustrated  there  are  three  doors 
outside  and  the  inside  of  the  door  opening 
is  laid  in  with  loose  boards  which  may  be 
put  in  as  the  filling  progresses  and  taken 


/•/^//^  >y/«v5-c4" 


J'^-O 


^jo/rc^  To  d9£-  ^y^^£:/y    t^^/r^   -s^u^  £?c^^7-  _ 


n 


rT-^i^^^M    ^y^^Ci.    /y/K^    ^^^    /^O/?  S^M-^* 


•sscr/o/v  or  /c/r  //ot/j£r 
the  plates.  If  you  expect  to  do  this,  you 
can  not  have  any  cross  beams  except  in 
the  front  and  rear.  There  is  very  little 
side  pressure  on  an  ice  house,  so  the  con- 
struction can  be  made  strong  enough 
without  cross  beams  in  the  center. 

The  door  openings  in  all  cases  should 
reach  from  the  ground  to  the  peak.     In 

Small  Iviver\^  Barn 


/==/,/r/Y  Of  /c£:  /vo(/'S£: 


out  again  one  at  a  time  as  needed  to  get 
at  the  ice.  A  single  pulley  in  the  peak 
and  another  one  hooked  in  the  sill  at  the 
bottom  answers  very  well  for  a  hoisting 
tackle.  The  ice  ma)^  be  lifted  straight  up 
from  the  sled  or  pulled  up  an  incline.  The 
thickness  of  the  ice  and  the  size  of  the 
blocks  will  have  to  govern  the  filling. 


-A138 


For  a  village  or  small  city  this  plan  of- 
fers a  comparatively  cheap  building  that 
mav  be  used  to  advantage  bv  a  man  who 


r/7of»r    ct^ctn^rtON 


keeps  four  or  five  horses  for  hire.  Usually 
in  such  cases  it  is  not  necessary  to  have  a 
great  deal  of  feed  storage  room  because 
the  hay  is  baled  and  sometimes  the  straw 
comes  in  bales.  A  good  harness  room  is 
necessary  and  it  often  happens  that  the 


hostler  wants  to  sleep  in  the  stable  and 
this  room,  ten  by  fifteen  feet,  is  sufficient 
for  such  purposes. 

The  problem  in  all  livery  stables  is  how 
to  take  care  of  the  different  rigs.  There 
are  cutters  and  sleighs  to  be  taken  care  of 


rLOOR    Pi/f/v  or  j/i/jll    L/rrry 


96 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


nine  or  ten  months  in  the  year,  when  they 
are  not  in  use,  and  there  are  wagons  in  the 
way  almost  all  the  time.    Storagfe  room  is 


•SI DC    CLCir//  r/o/v 


expensive  and  sometimes  ground  room  is 
an  object. 


Too  often  public  stables  are  littered 
around  outside  of  the  building  with  old 
trash  that  should  be  sold  for  junk  or 
burned  up.  Such  conditions  are  more  no- 
ticeable, in  the  smaller  places.  But  pride 
in  keeping  up  one's  property  is  just  as  val- 
uable and  just  as  necessary  in  a  village  as 
in  the  city.  Perhaps  liverymen  and  black- 
smiths are  a  little  more  careless  in  this  re- 
spect than  any  other  class  of  citizens.  Why 
this  should  be  so  is  a  mystery.  It  costs 
nothing  to  be  neat  and  neatness  attracts 
trade  in  these  lines  as  well  as  others.  From 
general  observation  it  would  seem  that  a 
place  for  everything  and  everything  in  its 
place  is  a  suggestion  which  applies  to  liv- 
erymen and  blacksmiths  all  over  the 
country. 


Convenient  Horse  Barn — A129 

Plan  (A129)  shows  how  to  build  a  small  best   to   keep   the   horses   by   themselves, 

convenient  horse  barn  twenty-one  by  thir-  There  are  a  good  many  farmers  who  object 

ty-two  feet  in  size.     A  building  like  this  to  stabling  horses  in   the  same  building 

is  verv  convenient  on  farms  where  it  seems  with  other  animals.     Besides  it  often   is 


BARN      PLANS 


97 


more  convenient  to  have  a  small  horse  about  three  inches  higher  than  the  floor 
barn  near  the  house  and  in  case  of  fire  behind  the  horses  an  incline  will  be  se- 
there  is  a  further  advantage  in  having  the     cured  sufficient  to  keep  the  feed  room  dry 


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buildings  separated.  The  old  English 
plan  was  to  scatter  farm  buildings  far 
enough  to  prevent  a  general  conflagration 
in  case  one  should  take  fire,  but  labor  cut 
less  of  a  figure  then. 

This  little  barn  should  have  a  cement 
floor  with  foundation  walls  going  below 
frost.     By  making  the  feed  passageway 

Cattle  Shed— A155 

Sheds  on  three  sides  of  a  hollow  square  is 
an  old  style  way  of  building  feeding  sheds. 
It  is  probably  the  best  way  now  except 
that  it  is  more  difficult  to  economize  labor 
with  this  construction  than  it  is  with  a 
straight  away  proposition  where  you  can 
run  a  railway  and  a  feed  truck  the  whole 


as  well  as  the  floor  under  the  horses.  Most 
horsemen  prefer  to  cover  a  cemet  floor 
with  planks  where  the  horses  stand.  This 
may  be  done  in  every  stall  or  in  some  of 
the  stalls  while  others  are  left  with  the 
cement  floor.  The  planks  should  be  two 
inches  thick  with  tongue  and  groove 
matching  laid  at  a  slight  incline. 


length  of  the  shed.  The  hollow  square 
proposition  has  the  advantage  of  warmth 
because  it  is  protected  from  the  east,  west 
and  north  winds.  Yards  like  this  are  al- 
ways built  opening  towards  the  south. 

In  this  plan  there  are  convenient  gates 
to   drive   in  when  bringing  roughage   or 


98 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


BARN      PLANS 


99 


other  feed  to  the  cattle.  The  gates  to  look 
well  should  be  made  right  and  left  and 
they  should  have  automatic  devise  to  fas- 
ten them  quickly.  Animals  confined  in  a 
yard  in  the  vi'inter  time  are  crazy  to  get 
out.  They  learn  how  to  slip  up  alongside 
of  a  wagon  and  crowd  through  the  gate 
when  the  driver  is  engaged  with  his  team. 
This  is  a  source  of  annoyance  that  can 
hardly  be  avoided,  but  good  gates  that 
swing  easily  and  fasten  quickly  help  a 
good  deal. 


It  is  customary  to  drive  around  with  a 
rack  load  of  feed  and  dump  a  little  in  each 
feed  rack  as  often  as  necessary.  Sometimes 
a  self-feeder  for  corn  in  the  ear  is  placed 
in  the  middle  of  the  yard  and  this  helps  a 
good  deal  in  saving  labor  and  the  labor 
problem  is  worrying  feeders  more  every 
year.  There  are  feed  carriers  that  may  be 
hung  from  an  overhead  track  to  pass 
around  through  a  shed  like  this,  but  us- 
ually the  cars  do  not  hold  enough  to  ef- 
fect much  of  a  saving. 


A  Hog-  House — A109 


In  building  a  hog  house  it  is  necessar}' 
to  consider  convenience  in  getting  the 
hogs  in  and  out,  to  provide  means  for  load- 
ing them  into  wagons  and  a  place  for  heat- 
ing water  and  to  do  the  work  of  killing. 


'Srcr/OA/    OF  /^OC  //OLfS£ 

This  plan  offers  an  opportunity  to  back  a 
wagon  up  to  the  rear  door  for  loading  and 
a  room  in  the  front  end  away  from  the 
pens  is  arranged  for  a  feed  room  and 
slaughter  house. 

Provision  is  made  for  moving  hogs  from 
one  pen  to  another  by  having  cleats  in  the 
alley  for  holding  sliding  doors. 

Hogs  thrive  better  when  animals  of  the 
same  size  are  penned  together.  Some  grow 
faster  than  others  and  it  is  sometimes  de- 
sirable to  select  out  one  or  two  from  cer- 


tain pens.  That  is  the  time  when  the  al- 
ley door  will  be  appreciated.  Another 
good  thing  about  this  hog  house  is  the 
swinging  front  of  the  pens  which  swings 
back  over  the  trough  and  prevents  inter- 
ference when  putting  in  the  feed.     The 


/-/LOO/?   /=>/./7A/   OF  //OG  /YOUSF 


lOO 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


partitions  next  to  the  feed  room  run  to 
the  ceiling  but  the  partitions  between  the 
pens  are  only  four  feet  high. 

There  is  no  cornice  to  the  roof.     The 
openings  above  the  plates  between  the  raf- 


ters are  left  for  ventilation.  This  hog 
house  will  accommodate  about  forty  hogs. 
From  six  to  eight  in  a  pen  are  enough,  if 
more  are  housed  together  they  pile  up  and 
smother  each  other. 


Carriage  House  and  Stable — A127 


The  illustration  on  this  page  shows  a 
carriage  house  and  stable  twenty  by  thir- 
ty feet  on  the  ground  and  fourteen  feet 
high  to  the  plates.  The  ceiling  is  eight 
foot  six  inches  which  is  about  as  low  as 


ing  things.     No  carpenter  likes  to  have 
such  remarks  made  about  him. 

The  internal  arrangement  of  this  stable 
is  different  from  most  small  carriage 
houses.     There  is  a  box  stall  about  nine 


FRoriy   ELLE.vAyiori. 


you  can  have  a  ceiling  in  a  carriage  house 
because  you  must  have  room  enough  for 
a  top  buggy.  For  this  reason  the  doorway 
must  be  about  the  same  height.  We  all 
have  had  experience  in  catching  a  buggy- 
top  on  the  lintel  of  a  low  doorway.  It 
seems  to  be  the  proper  occasion  for  say- 


feet  square.  It  is  difticult  to  plan  a  decent 
sized  box  stall  in  a  small  stable.  They 
run  into  room  too  fast.  Nothing  looks 
so  comfortable  for  a  good  horse  as  a 
roomy  box  stall.  If  the  horses  had  their 
say  about  it  there  woud  be  more  box 
stalls,  but   it  really  requires  about   three 


BARN      PLANS 


lOI 


times  as  much  room  to  stable  horses  this 
way.  No  man  begrudges  the  room,  but 
most  men  don't  like  to  put  up  money 
enough  to  enclose  it  properly. 

The  ideal  arrangement  for  stabling  a 
horse  is  a  big  box  stall  with  a  good  sized 
window  for  light  and  a  door  cut  in  half 


Floor    Puai-i 


SO  that  the  upper  part  may  be  left  open 
during  the  day  time  to  let  the  horse  look 
out.  A  box  stall  shut  up  tight  is  a  prison 
for  a  horse;  they  like  to  see  things  as  well 
as  other  folks. 

Some  box  stalls  are  fitted  with  rubbing 
boards.  These  consist  of  planks  about 
two  inches  thick  turned  edgewise  to  the 
horse  and  fastened  to  the  sides  of  the  stall 
just  low  enough  down  so  the  horse  can't 
rub  his  tail.  A  box  stall  needs  no  floor 
and  there  should  be  no  feed  rack  or  man- 
ger.    A  box  on  the  ground  to  feed  oats 


in  is  all  the  manger  necessary.  The  hay 
should  be  put  in  at  frequent  intervals  in 
small  quantities  placed  lightly  on  the  floor 
or  bedding  against  the  side  of  the  stall. 
This  way  of  feeding  has  often  cured 
horses  of  chronic  indigestion. 

In  building  a  stable  it  is  a  great  deal  bet- 
ter to  find  out  all  these  little  details  and 
build  accordingly.  There  are  several  rea- 
sons why  box  stalls  are  better  than  stand- 
ing stalls  with  mangers.  A  horse  loves 
his  freedom.  To  understand  this  it  is  only 
necessary  to  watch  a  horse  when  you  take 
the  bridle  or  halter  off. 

One  great  defect  in  horse  stalls  as  you 
ordinarily  see  them  is  lack  of  ventilation. 
It  is  quite  common  to  see  the  inner  walls 
of  a  stable  in  winter  white  with  frost. 
The  frost  wouldn't  be  there  if  the  stable 
was  dry  as  it  should  be.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  put  in  an  elaborate  system  of  ven- 
tilating pipes  in  a  small  stable.  The  win- 
dows and  doors  are  sufficient  if  they  are 
managed  right.  The  breath  of  one  or  two 
horses  is  easil}^  taken  care  of,  but  even 
in  small  stables  such  things  often  are  ne- 
glected. 

In  this  barn  the  carriage  room  is  closed 
off  from  the  stable,  which  is  right.  The 
odor  from  the  stable  is  a  damage  to  the 
carriages  and  to  the  rugs.  The  stable 
should  be  warmer  than  the  carriage  room, 
so  the  door  works  right  from  both  sides. 


Practical  Poultry  House — A168 


A  single  section  of  a  two-pen  poultry 
house  fourteen  by  twenty-four  feet  is 
given  in  this  plan.  The  house  of  course 
may  be  any  length  by  adding  any  number 
of  twenty-four  foot  sections.  It  is  placed 
so  that  the  windows  look  to  the  south  to 
gather  all  the  sunlight  possible. 

A  passageway  on  the  north  side,  where 


the  roof  is  high  to  make  head  room,  is  par- 
titioned off  and  the  work  of  feeding  is 
done  along  this  passage.  A  door  lifts  up 
in  front  of  the  roosts  from  this  passage- 
way to  facilitate  cleaning.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  enter  the  scratching  room  very 
often  because  most  of  the  attention  may 
be  given  from  the  alleyway.    With  the  ex- 


I02 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


ception  of  the  space  occupied  by  the  dust     commodate  from  twenty  to  thirty  birds 
boxes  the  whole  floor,  except  this  passage-     according  to  the  size. 


PCRSPtCrivE      Vi^ 


way,  is  given  over  to  scratching  purposes 
as  the  roosts  and  dropping  boards  are  ele- 


DusT  Box 


Dust   Box 


'^jn 


5 


Passage 


^ 24'  0- » 

Ground  Plan. 

vated    so   the    chickens    can   work   under 
them.     A   section  of  this  house  will  ac- 


Poultry  men  argue  by  the  hour  about 
*  the  necessity  of  an  alleyway.  There  are 
I  many  different  opinions.  Some  think  an 
!  alleyway  is  worth  all  the  room  it  takes 
I  up  just  to  prevent  annoying  the  fowls, 
°  when  feeding  by  going  in  and  out  from 
-  amongst  them.  Other  poultry  men  think 
:  that  chickens  ought  to  be  tame  enough 
!  to  pay  very  little  attention  to  the  feeder 
!  when  he  goes  about  his  work,  but  it  is 
^  generally  noticeable  that  a  hen  makes 
quite  a  fuss  when  she  thinks  she  is  about 
to  be  cornered.  This  applies  to  hens  that 
are  ordinarily  tame  as  well  as  those  that 
are  ordinarily  wild. 


Cheap  Grain   Building — A128 


A  cheap  building  to  hold  grain  and  corn 
is  shown  in  this  design.  It  is  a  low  build- 
ing with  studding  only  ten  feet  long,  but 
that  is  about  as  high  as  a  person  cares  to 
pitch  corn  or  threshed  grain.  Just  ordin- 
ary one  by  four  pine  strips  spaced  to  }i 
inch  are  nailed  on  the  outside  of  two  by 
four  studding  to  make  the  corn  crib,  but 
the  wheat  and  oat  bins  of  course  are  made 
tight  all  around  and  a  little  extra  work  is 
pul  on  the  floor. 

There  is  considerable  side  pressure  in  a 
wheat  bin  which  must  be  guarded  against 
by  using  a  few  extra  braces,  but  heavy 
timbers  riro  unneccssarv  in  a  bin  the  size 


of  this  one.  This  building  may  be  floored 
overhead  for  storage,  or  the  bins  may  be 
left  open  to  the  roof.  By  leaving  the 
space  open  the  building  will  be  lighted 
sufficient  by  the  small  window  in  each 
gable. 

It  is  not  intended  to  Hoor  the  driveway 
unless  it  is  needed  when  using  a  fanning 
mill  to  clean  grain,  but  the  building  would 
be  all  the  better  for  having  a  good  solid 
floor  the  full  size.  This  plan  provides  for 
a  building  thirty  by  forty  feet.  Thirty 
feet  is  wide  enough  for  convenience  either 
in  building  or  for  use  afterwards,  but  of 
course  it  may  be  anv  length. 


BARN      PLANS 


103 


Fromj    E-lelva  J I  on. 


A  \i  *\ — 

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Floop  pLAn. 


104 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


Barn    for   Small    Farm — A  169 


A  neat  little  barn  that  is  well  propor- 
tioned and  suitable  for  a  farm  of  twenty 
or  thirty  acres  is  given  in  these  illustra- 
tions. There  is  a  threshing  floor  in  the 
middle  with  wide  double  doors  in  the 
north  side  as  well  as  in  the  south  side  mak- 


warmer  in  a  stable  with  a  low  ceiling  and 
if  there  is  plenty  of  chance  for  the  air  to 
get  in  and  out  again  they  have  good  ven- 
tilation. 

It  seems  difficult  for  some  livestock  men 
to  understand  this  phenomenon.    The  rea- 


SIDE  ELEVATION 


ing   a   good   liberal   passageway   through 
the  center  of  the  barn. 

On  one  side  of  the  driveway  is  a  granary 
and  stabling  for  three  horses  with  a  nine 
foot  ceiling.  A  third  of  the  barn  on  the 
other  side  of  the  driveway  is  made  into  a 
cow  stable  making  seven  good  roomy 
stalls.  The  cow  stable  side  has  a  ceiling 
seven  feet  high.  Cows  don't  get  their 
heads  up  as  high  as  horses  do  and  they 
don't  need  such  a  high  ceiling.    Cows  keep 


son  is  the  air  circulates  more  freely  when 
it  is  warm.  The  body  heat  of  seven  cows 
in  this  stable  with  a  low  ceiling  will  warm 
the  air  sufficiently  to  keep  it  in  circulation. 
If  there  are  openings  where  the  fresh  air 
can  get  in,  the  foul  air  will  find  its  way  out 
and  there  will  be  a  constant  change. 

Both  the  cow  stable  and  horse  stable  are 
boarded  up  in  front,  but  barn  boarding 
usually  is  not  very  tight.  Unless  matched 
stuff  is  used  there  is  a  little  opening  be- 


BARN      PLANS 


105 


I I I U I '"-'I 1 I I 


"D — zi D II r 


-TT 


-n^ 


-^^ 


t>  'ji 


LONGITUDINAL  SECTION 


r5 
z  4  •■, 


,P 


I  ■ 


or   c  ? 


-iM 


FLOOR  PLAN 


io6 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


tween  the  boards  that  allow  for  the  escape 
of  a  good  deal  of  bad  air.  There  usually 
is  considerable  space  around  the  doors. 
There  are  feed  doors  in  front  of  the  stable 
so  the  fodder  may  be  put  in  from  the  barn 
floor. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  use  a  horse 
fork  in  a  barn  of  this  size.  The  flooring 
overhead  does  not  cover  the  whole  of  the 
threshing  floor  so  that  hay  and  grain  in 
the  sheaf  is  forked  up  by  hand.  It  will  be 
noticed  by  referring  to  the  transverse  and 
longitudinal  sections  that  the  timber  is 
very  carefully  planned  for  size  and  length 
in  proportion  to  the  building.  Every  stick 
is  necessary  but  there  is  not  a  piece  too 
manv. 


A    Rat    Proof   Granary— A141 


A  dry  floor  and  one  that  is  rat  proof  is 
made  by  excavating  for  the  foundation  of 
the  granary  about  six  inches  deep.  Then 
pound  in  three  or  four  inches  of  cinders 
and  lay  the  sills  and  joists  on  the  cinders. 

After  the  building  is  up  and  enclosed 
make  cement  concrete  by  mixing  one  part 
cement,  three  parts  sand  and  four  parts 


gravel  or  broken  stone.  Fill  in  with  this 
concrete  to  the  tops  of  the  joists,  then 
while  the  concrete  is  soft  put  down  the 
matched  floor,  nailing  it  right  into  the  soft 
concrete.  As  soon  as  the  floor  is  finished 
shut  the  building  up  tight  and  bank 
around  the  outside  to  keep  the  air  away 
from  the  concrete  so  it  will  dry  slowly. 


S/V/?     ^J^r  /O?'  T/OA/ 


>J/rCT/OA' 


BARN      PLANS 


107 


The  matched  boarding  is  put  on  the  out- 
side of  the  studding  and  the  siding  nailed 
over  that.  This  is  for  the  purpose  of 
leaving  the  inside  exposed  so  that  a  cat  or 
dog  could  easily  reach  a  rat  if  it  should 
get  inside.  Hollow  walls  make  harbors 
for  rats  but  this  construction  leaves  them 
no  protection. 

There  is  a  window  in  the  back  end  of  the 
alley  and  another  one  over  the  door  in 
front.  The  doors  are  made  heavy  and 
swing  out.  They  close  against  heavy  jams 
so  that  rats  and  mice  have  very  little  en- 
couragement to  get  in  at  the  door.  The 
scales  are  let  in  the  floor  flush.    Provision 


/=/r3j/rc£: 


/^loo/f'  /^t/TA/  or  c/f/r/v/r/ry 
must  be  made  for  this  before  the  concrete  is  put  in. 


A    Tank    House— A144 


Every  farm  should  have  a  wind-mill 
and  every  wind-mill  should  have  a  tank 
house  connected  with  pipes  in  such  a  way 
as  to  keep  a  continuous  supply  of  water 


a  tank  inside  six  feet  high,  four  feet  wide 
and  twelve  feet  long.  In  the  winter  time 
a  space  between  the  sides  of  the  tank  and 
the  sides  of  the  building  may  be  filled  in 


•sroc/i'  ^/F/f/v 


PL/f/v  or  r/FA/K  /^ou3£ 


for  the  stock.  Tank  houses  are  wet  things 
and  it  is  better  not  to  have  one  inside  of 
a  barn.  A  tank  house  is  necessary  to  shade 
the  tank  so  the  sun  won't  spoil  it,  to  shade 
the  water  in  summer  to  keep  it  cool  and 
to  protect  it  from  frost  in  winter. 

Plan  (A144)  shows  a  snug  little  house, 
tightly  built  with  paper  in  the  walls  and 


with  manure  to  keep  water  from  freezing. 
Pipes  from  the  bottom  of  the  tank  to  the 
watering  troughs  are  connected  with 
valves  either  underground  or  in  boxes  that 
are  covered  with  manure.  The  valves  have 
long  stems  so  they  may  be  turned  from 
outside  the  building,  or  by  opening  the 
little  door  and  reaching  in. 


io8 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


A    Small    Bani— A113 

A  small  barn  with  two  double  stalls  and  makes  a  harbor  for  rats.  It  is  better  to 
one  single  stall  with  standing  room  for  have  it  boarded  up.  The  stable  doors  in 
another  horse  is  offered  in  this  plan.  The     this  plan,  both  at  the  north  side  and  at 


rioirpH  3]  DC 

barn  is  twenty-six  feet  wide  and  thirty- 
two  feet  long,  one  half  of  which  is  parti- 
tioned off  for  a  stable  and  the  other  half 


the  south  side,  are  cut  in  two  so  the  upper 
half  may  be  opened  for  air  and  ventilation 
and  the  lower  one  remain  shut  to  keep  the 
animals  from  going  out  and  in.  The  plan 
is  as  simple  as  possible  to  make  a  barn  and 
still  have  it  look  well.  It  is  large  enough 
to  be  of  some  use  and  it  has  quite  a  loft 
for  hay.  A  cheap  little  barn  like  this  ans- 
wers the  purpose  as  well  as  a  more  expen- 
sive one. 


We  5 


is  kept  for  carriage  room  and  storage. 
There  is  no  foundation  under  this  barn 
except  stone  or  brick  corners  and  center 
supports,  but  it  is  a  good  plan  to  put  a 
board  around  under  the  sill  and  bury  the 
lower  edge  in  the  ground. 

A     barn     that     is     open     underneath 


a 


BARN      PLANS 


109 


A  Stave  Silo— A157 


The  cheapest  way  to  make  a  satisfactory 
silo  is  to  build  it  of  two  inch  staA^es  with  a 
cement  foundation  and  pit.  Stave  silos 
don't  last  forever,  probably  their  average 
usefulness  is  somewhere  between  five  and 


^ 

s 

m 

» 

^ 

^ 

1 

__. 

I 

1  1  1 II — ^-^ 

i 

«)  .III] 

f/ 

-       ■ 

I 

— 



mi 

1  van 

-  ---■ 

1 

ELEVy^TlON        OF      SILO 
ten  years.     It  will  vary  according  to  the 
material  used  in  the  construction,  the  care 
with  which  they  are  built  and  the  protec- 
tion   they    receive    afterward,   especially 


when  not  filled.  The  best  stave  silos  will 
go  to  pieces  if  the  hoops  are  not  kept  tight 
when  the  silo  is  empty. 

The  most  convenient  height  to  make  a 
stave  silo  is  thirty-two  feet  above  the  wall. 
This  gives  an  opportunity  to  use  sixteen 
foot  stuff  to  advantage.  In  building  a 
silo  sixteen  feet  in  diameter  it  is  only  nec- 
essary to  use  two  lengths  of  staves,  a 
short  length,  eight  feet,  and  a  long  length, 
sixteen  feet,  in  order  to  break  joints  at  dif- 


PLAN      or     ^ILO 

ferent  heights.  If  larger  silos  are  built  it 
is  a  good  plan  to  use  enough  four  foot  and 
twelve  foot  lengths  of  staves  so  that  you 
have  only  one  joint  to  two  solid  staves  on 
one  level.  Where  only  two  lengths  are 
used  as  in  this  plan  the  joints  and  solid 
staves  come  alternately,  but  even  this 
makes  a  very  strong  structure  when  the 
hoops  are  pulled  up  tight  as  they  should 
be  at  all  times. 

The  staves  should  not  be  wider  than 
eight  inches.  The  edges  should  be  straight 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


and  true,  the  bevel  carefully  made  on  a 
sticker  and  turned  up  with  a  hand  pointer 
by  a  competent  workman.  The  bevel  is 
very  important.     Where  the  edges  of  the 


venient  to  use  staves  all  of  the  same  width. 
They  may  be  from  six  to  nine  inches  wide, 
but  they  must  come  in  pairs  or  sets  of 
three  of  the  same  width  together.  Where 
staves  are  used  of  different  widths  the 
system  of  numbering  shown  in  the  draw- 


ih 


/(. 


/J-- 


if-: 


^ 


S  u  cznmT    rouNDATioN 

CROSS      SECTION     Of     SILO 

staves  come  together  the  joint  should  be 
perfect  from  insid'^  to  outside  and  from 
top  to  bottom  of  the  silo. 

It  very  often  happens  that  it  is  not  con- 


ing will  be  found  very  useful.  Staves  are 
all  cut  to  size  and  length  and  numbered, 
they  can  then  be  loaded  on  a  wagon  and 
hauled  to  the  building  site  and  laid  out  on 
the  ground  in  proper  order.  There  will 
be  about  seventy-five  eight  inch  staves  in 
a  silo  sixteen  feet  in  diameter.  The  door 
frame  takes   up  about   three   feet   of   the 


~i — r 


1M    \W 
IN  A    SILO    Ifc'-O" 


A    T"  STAVES 
INSIDE      DIAHETER 


circle.  In  making  the  door  frame  ladder 
use  the  best  material  you  can  get  and  have 
it  framed  square  and  solid  with  good  jambs 
well  fitted  for  the  inside  door  panel  to 
shut  against.  It  is  almost  impossible  to 
make  a  silo  door  tight  enough. 

The  doors  in  this  plan  are  built  like  re 
frigerator  doors.     They  are  put  on  and 

IRON      TOtaCUE 

held  in  place  by  lag  screws  turned  into 
the  timber.  The  outside  boarding  of  the 
doors  is  double  to  make  a  firm  hold  for 
the  lag  screws.  It  is  a  slower  job  to  put 
the  doors  on  when  they  are  fastened  this 
way,  but  it  is  only  necessary  to  change 
them  twice  a  year. 

A  hoop  passes  around  the  silo  between 
each  door.     These  hoops  are  made  in  sec- 


BARN      PLANS 


III 


tions,  each  length  about  sixteen  feet  six  hole  a  foot  thick  at  the  bottom  and  nine 
inches  long,  as  this  allows  for  the  lap  and  inches  at  the  top  and  five  feet  high.  A 
the  take  up  of  the  threads  at  the  yokes,     twelve  inch  bottom  is  put  in  at  the  same 

'^^hc^)(.H  NAILED"— v^/V  At 

DO  O  R 
SECTION 


iLAG    SCREW 
*^ — -^O 


W  0 


5JDE  ^"'^  BACK 
ELEVATION -'•DOOR 


— ■:> 


=Q: 


^^iJ^ 


JDOOR 


=e= 


FRONT   ELEVATION 
OF     DOOR 


ELEVATION  OV 
DOOR     FRAME 

There  is  a  cast  iron  yoke  at  each  meeting  time  so  that  the  pit  when  finished  is  four 
of  the  hoops  as  shown  in  the  detail  draw-  feet  deep  and  fifteen  feet  eight  inches  in 
ing.  diameter  in  the  clear.    The  walls  are  nine 


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STAVES      WUMBERED 

The  bottom  of  the  silo  is  made  of  ce- 
ment. A  round  hole  is  dug  seventeen 
feet  eight  inches  in  diameter.  A  cement 
wall  is  built  around  the  outside  of  this 


--  LETTERED 

inches  thick  on  top. 

In  starting  the  woodwork,  first  set  up 
the  ladder  door  frame  on  the  center  of 
the  cement  wall.    Make  it  plumb  and  stay- 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


lath  it  in  place  and  put  on  plenty  of  braces 
so  it  can't  move.  Then  set  up  the  staves 
starting  at  one  side  of  the  ladder  with 
number  one.  Set  the  staves  on  end  on 
the  center  of  the  wall  or  a  little  outside 
of  the  center.  This  is  important  because 
when  you  commence  to  tighten  the  hoops 
the  staves  must  draw  in  and  you  want 
about  two  inches  of  wall  on  the  inside  af- 
ter the  staves  are  drawn  tight.  You 
shouldn't  have  more  than  two  inches  be- 
cause you  don't  want  a  shelf  at  the  top  of 
the  wall  to  prevent  the  silage  from  set- 
'tling. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  hoops  are 
placed  much  closer  together  at  the  bot- 
tom than  they  are  further  up.  It  seems 
more  difficult  to  keep  a  silo  tight  at  the 
bottom,  there  is  more  pressure  on  it. 
When  the  sides  are  up  and  the  hoops  made 
tight   the  bottom   should   be   finished   all 


around  both  inside  and  out  with  rings  of 
cement  where  the  wooden  staves  meet  the  ** 
cement  wall.  Make  this  joint  water  tight 
if  you  possibly  can.  Very  often  the  juice 
from  the  corn  will  fill  the  pit  and  run  over. 
Keep  the  liquid  in  if  you  possibly  can. 

The  roof  of  the  silo  should  be  light  and 
removable.  You  can't  fill  a  silo  full  unless 
you  have  boards  to  set  up  to  reach  a  few 
feet  above  the  top.  It  will  settle  sometimes 
as  much  as  ten  feet.  It  is  an  advantage  to 
take  the  top  all  off  and  to  have  boards  six 
or  eight  feet  long  set  up  around  the  top 
temporarily  and  fill  to  the  top  of  these 
extra  boards.  It  will  settle  enough  then. 
Where  the  ends  of  the  staves  meet  make 
a  saw-cut  an  inch  deep.  Have  pieces  of 
two  inch  hoop  iron  cut  just  long  enough 
to  reach  the  width  of  the  staves  and  use 
them  for  iron  tongues  to  match  the  ends 
of  the  staves  together. 


An  Eu,^lish   Barn — A99 


Small  artistic  stables  are  more  common 
in  England  than  they  are  in  the  United 
States,  possibly  because  the  country  is 
older  and  the  people  have  had  more  time 
to  develop  an  artistic  taste  in  such  mat- 
ters. An  English  gentleman  likes  to  keep 
his  cob  and  cart.  He  wants  a  good  smart 
turn-out  that  presents  a  respectable  if  not 
a  dashing  appearance;  then  he  likes  to 
have  things  in  keeping  at  home,  so  he 
maintains  a  very  neat  car'-iage  house  and 
stable. 

Some  of  these  carriage  houses  are  older 
than  the  proprietor  but  you  would  never 
know  it  to  look  at  them.  They  are  kept 
in  such  repair  and  they  nestle  amongst 
the  hedges  and  trees  in  such  a  pretty 
homelike  way  that  you  never  think  about 
their  age  or  intrinsic  value.  You  get  the 
impression  at  once  that  they  are  proper 
and  proper  goes  a  long  way  in  England. 


You  don't  wonder  that  they  have  very 
neat  stables  just  the  right  size  and  that 
they  appear  modestl)'^  retiring  away  to  the 
back  end  of  the  pretty  garden.  It  just 
seems  to  come  natural.  Their  great,  great 
grandfather  or  their  double  great  uncle 
did  the  same  thing  long  before  they  were 
born  so  all  they  have  to  do  is  to  follow 
precedent. 

The  English  carriage  house  of  today 
was  built  after  hundreds  of  years  of  ex- 
perimenting until  the  location  of  every 
plank,  the  size  and  direction  of  every  door 
and  window  was  determined  without  any 
further  question  in  regard  to  the  possi- 
bility of  the  slightest  improvement.  It  is 
put  back  on  the  lot  in  the  furtherest  corner 
from  the  house.  The  approach  to  it  is 
through  an  arched  or  pillored  opening  in 
a  beautifully  well  kept  hedge.  The  drive- 
way is  not  straight.     English  gardeners 


BARN      PLANS 


113 


keep  just  as  far  away  from  straight  lines 
as  they  possibly  can.  Somebody  discov- 
ered in  the  time  of  King  Alfred  that  curved 
paths  and  roadways  in  gardens  were  prop- 
er. Some  of  the  old  enthusiasts  went  a 
step  too  far  and  got  them  crooked.     This 


was  frowned  upon  for  a  century  or  two 
until  succeeding  generations  pulled  some 
of  the  kinks  out  by  injecting  a  few  lib- 
eral doses  of  English  conservatism  so  that 
now  after  a  good  many  generations  the 
driveway  from  the  lane  through  the  back 


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RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


of  the  lot  to  the  stable  is  gently  curved. 
The  stable  also  is  partially  screened  from 
view  by  hedges,  vines  and  trees:  This  is 
proper  in  England,  it  is  good  sense  in  any 
other  country. 

The  difficulty  of  doing  things  just  right 
in  the  United  States  is  that  we  are  in  too 
much  of  a  hurry  to  get  satisfactory  re- 
sults. We  get  ready  to  build  a  stable  one 
day  and  have  the  material  on  the  ground 
before  breakfast  the  next  morning.  We 
haven't  decided  where  to  put  the  thing  so 
we  go  out  with  the  carpenter  harboring 
the  idea  that  his  time  is  going  on  and  that 
while  we  detain  him  he  is  not  engaged  in 
sawing  or  hammering.  For  economy  sake 
we  must  decide  instantly.  The  street  line 
is  guessed  at  and  the  barn  placed  just  a 
little  inside.  After  it  is  up  and  the  work- 
men have  gone  there  is  plenty  of  time  to 
think  it  over  and  regret  not  having  done 
some  things  differently,  but  the  barn  is  up 
now,  it  has  cost  a  little  more  than  we 
counted  on,  they  always  do  cost  more 
than  we  expect,  and  we  always  expect  they 


will  when  we  start  in,  but  at  any  rate  we 
haven't  any  time  or  money  now  to  change 
things  or  even  level  of¥  the  ground  prop- 
erly. We  haven't  figured  on  a  curved 
driveway,  that  is  all  nonsense,  but  we  lay 
down  some  planks  to  keep  us  out  of  the 
mud.  The  finish  is  not  satisfactory  to  our- 
selves or  anybody  else,  but  we  have  a 
barn  and  we  have  secured  it  in  character- 
istic American  hustle  fashion  so  we  ought 
to  be  satisfied. 

The  plan  (A99)  shows  the  general  ar- 
rangement. There  is  a  room  partitioned 
ofif  in  the  gable  upstairs  for  the  man.  A 
stairway  going  up  from  the  carriage  room 
lands  in  this  upper  room.  The  feed  bins 
at  the  back  of  the  stalls  connect  with  the 
storage  bin  on  the  upper  floor  by  means 
of  spouts  as  indicated.  There  is  a  carriage 
room  that  is  large  enough  to  look  well  and 
to  accommodate  a  number  of  vehicles.  In- 
stead of  having  a  harness  room  there  are 
pegs  for  harness  in  a  corner  of  the  car- 
riage room  and  the  harness  is  covered  with 
curtains  hunsr  to  a  wire  overhead. 


A  Duck  House— A98 


A  house  designed  for  the  housing  of 
thoroughbred  ducks  is  given  in  plan 
(A98).  It  is  built  up  from  the  gromid  on 
cedar  posts  set  on  blocks  to  prevent  set- 
tling. The  idea  is  to  have  a  damp  proof 
house  with  the  best  possible  ventilation. 

The  building  is  sixteen  by  thirty  feet 
and  contains  one  general  room  with  a  pas- 
sage, which  is  also  a  storeroom  for  feed, 
along  one  side  and  across  one  end.  All 
the  principal  construction  details  are 
fully  shown  in  the  detail  drawings. 

The  house  is  built  principally  of  two  by 
fours  as  it  is  not  very  large  and  heavier 
timber  is  unnecessary.  The  especial  fea- 
tures are  the  filling  of  mineral  wool  in  the 
partitions  for  warmth  and  a  slatted  ceiling 


with  straw  overhead  for  ventilation  with- 
out drafts  and  without  letting  in  an  unnec- 
essary amount  of  cold  air. 

This  style  of  building  is  somewhat  ex- 
pensive but  it  is  very  satisfactory  when 
finished.  It  is  usually  considered  that  any 
kind  of  an  old  shed  will  do  for  ducks.  In 
most  cases  any  kind  of  an  old  shed  is  made 
to  answer  the  purpose,  but  there  is  money 
in  the  better  breeds  and  to  get  results  it 
is  necessarv  to  keep  even  ducks  with  some 
idea  of  comfort.  Some  of  the  improved 
varieties  bring  fancy  prices  for  eggs  and 
young  breeding  stock,  but  like  other  thor- 
oughbred animals  fancy  ducks  need  a  lit- 
tle more  attention  than  little  old  scrubs 
that   most  of  us  were  accustomed    to. 


BARN      PLANS 


"5 


ii6 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


Feed  Lots  for  Beef  Cattle--A184 


Where  cattle  arc  fed  in  large  numbers 
it  pays  and  pays  well  to  fit  up  properly  for 
the  business.  In  the  corn  belt,  buying 
thrifty  young  cattle  and  finishing  them 
for  the  market,  is  a  splendid  business  in 
the  hands  of  men  who  understand  how  to 


\^ ^\o" hi 

L  ij 

CROSS     SECTION 
OF      CAR 

buy,  how  to  feed  and  Imw  to  sell.  The 
old  fashioned  way  of  putting  a  fence 
around  a  mud-hole  and  confining  a  bunch 
of  cattle  in  the  mire  for  weeks  or  months 
at  a  time  ceased  to  be  profitable  long  ago, 
but  unfortunately  some  men  haven't  found 
it  out.  Considerable  engineering  ability 
is  required  to  plan  and  construct  feed  lots 
for  the  accommodation  of  large  numbers 


of  cattle  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  the  ani- 
mals comfortable  and  to  economize  labor. 
Plan  (A1234)  has  received  very  careful 
attention  in  this  respect.  The  storage  barn 
and  silos  are  set  on  a  ridge  of  ground  slop- 
ing preferably  to  the  southwest.    The  feed 


CROSS   SECTION 
OF     CORN     CRIB 

lots,  thirty-two  by  seventy-two  feet  in 
size,  including  the  shed,  are  fenced  off  one 
after  another  as  many  as  needed.  Two 
yards  only  are  shown  in  the  drawings  be- 
cause no  matter  how  many  you  have  each 
pair  of  two  would  be  a  repetition  of  this 
pair.  The  lots  might  be  extended  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  holding  the  same  order. 
It  works  bettor  if  the  ground  is  about 


BARN      PLANS 


117 


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RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


eight  feet  lower  for  the  feed  lots  than  it 
is  for  the  storage  barn  and  silos  as  this 
gives  a  chance  to  run  the  track  from  the 
floor  of  the  storage  barn  over  the  heads 
of  the  cattle  high  enough  to  leave  a  pas- 
sageway under  for  a  pair  of  horses  and  a 
manure  spreader.  Eight  feet  in  the  clear 
is  little  enough  and  it  is  high  enough  be- 
cause straw  as  well  as  feed  will  be  brought 
to  each  lot  by  a  car  on  the  overhead  track. 
The  car  is  made  large  for  this  purpose,  be- 
ing four  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  six  feet 
wide  at  the  top,  four  feet  high  and  eight 
feet  long-.     When  filled  with  silage  it  will 


enough  to  hold  something.  He  runs  a 
chute  from  the  silo  to  the  car  which  saves 
forking  the  silage  up  from  the  floor  until 
the  silo  is  nearly  empty.  The  sides  of  the 
car  are  hinged  so  they  drop  down  over  the 
feeding  racks  in  the  yards.  He  loads  the 
car  quickly  and  easily  and  a  good  deal  of 
the  stufif  unloads  itself.  The  track  is  made 
in  sixteen  foot  sections,  as  the  yards  are 
thirty-two  feet  wide  the  tracks  have  one 
support  in  the  middle  of  the  yard.  The 
other  supports  form  part  of  the  fences  be- 
tw-een  the  yards. 

In  laying  out  thr;  yards  the  problem  of 


DETAIL    OF 

make  quite  a  load,  but  one  man  can  move 
it  if  the  wheels  are  large  and  kept  well 
oiled  and  if  the  track  is  level  and  true. 
Some  feeding  yards  have  an  inclined  track, 
but  this  is  not  necessary,  in  fact  it  is  ob- 
jectionable because  the  car  will  never  stay 
where  you  want  it  and  it  is  uphill  work 
getting  it  back  to  be  refdled.  Make  the 
track  absolutely  dead  level  and  perfectly 
straight.  Two  by  fours  plated  on  top  with 
two  inch  band  iron  that  has  been  hammer- 
ed straight  and  true  will  answer  very  well 
but  the  two  by  fours  must  be  well  sup- 
ported and  thoroughly  spiked  in  place.  In 
building  the  track  remember  that  you 
arc  trying  to  save  time  and  labor  at  every 
feeding  period  for  a  number  of  years  to 
come.  You  want  the  track  so  true  and 
the  car  wheels  to  fit  so  perfectly  that  the 
car  will  run  along  without  much  friction 
after  getting  it  started. 

One  man  with  a  rig  like  th.is  that  works 
right  should  feed  a  large  bunch  of  cattle 
because  he  can  take  advantage  of  his  work. 
In   the  first  place  he  has  got   a   car  big 


b   CINDERS 
BRICK     PAVEMENT 

drainage  must  be  worked  out  first.  It  is 
impossible  to  have  the  yards  dry  unless 
ample  provision  is  made  for  taking  care 
of  the  rainfall.  A  drain  tile  is  marked  on 
the  plan  leading  from  the  corner  of  the 
storage  barn  and  running  across  the  ends 
of  the  feeding  pens  down  the  whole  length 
of  the  alley  to  an  outlet  in  the  field  be- 
yond. The  brick  pavement  in  each  feed 
lot  slopes  to  the  center  to  lead  the  water 
to  the  tile  drain  underneath  which  con- 
nects with  the  trunk  line  of  tile  near  the 
fence  in  the  alley.  This  main  drain  in- 
creases in  size  to  accommodate  the  extra 
drainage  as  it  proceeds  past  the  different 
pens. 

An  open  shed  twelve  by  thirty-two  feet 
occupies  one  end  of  each  yard.  This  shed 
is  not  paved  but  is  kept  well  bedded.  All 
the  rest  of  the  yard  is  paved  with  brick 
laid  flat  on  a  cinder  bed. 

An  additional  drain  tile  runs  from  each 
water  tank  to  the  trunk  tile  line  to  take 
care  of  any  overflow  from  the  tank.  In 
some  locations  anotlu^r  tile  drain  will  be 


BARN      PLANS 


119 


I20 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


necessary  at  the  back  of  the  shed  because 
the  ground  must  be  kept  dry. 
Water  Supply. 

Good  fresh  water  in  sufficient  quantity 
to  supply  the  needs  of  the  cattle  in  these 
feed  lots  is  quite  a  problem  in  itself.  The 
water  must  be  good  and  there  must  be 
plenty  of  it.  It  must  also  be  supplied  under 
pressure  and  carried  to  each  water  tank  in 
pipes  placed  under  ground  below  frost. 
There  must  be  a  valve  placed  in  each  pipe 
running  to  each  water  tank  so  constructed 
that  it  won't  freeze.  The  stems  from  these 
valves  should  be  extended  up  to  the  over- 
head track  so  a  man  can  walk  from  one  end 
of  the  feeding  yards  to  the  other  and  reg- 
ulate the  water  easily  and  quickly. 

Generally  the  water  must  be  supplied 
by  a  windmill  and  a  reservoir  of  some 
kind.  A  cement  basin  in  a  nearby  hillside 
is  perhaps  the  most  satisfactory  because 
when  once  made  it  is  permanent.  The 
source  must  be  sufficient  to  supply  it  and 
the  windmill  or  other  power  which  does 
the  pumping  must  be  powerful  enough  to 
do  the  work  at  all  times.  You  cannot  af- 
ford to  take  chances  on  a  water  famine 
with  several  hundreds  of  feeding  cattle 
on  your  hands. 

Storage  bam. 

In  the  plan  not  much  attention  is  paid 
to  the  storage  barn  except  that  it  shows 
the  most  convenient  location.  Every  feed- 
er must  plan  storage  to  suit  his  way  of  do- 
ing business.  If  he  has  a  large  farm  on 
which  he  grows  alfalfa,  grain  and  othe- 
crops  that  make  large  quantities  of  rough- 
age he  must  provide  an  extensive  storage 
barn  with  appliances  to  get  the  stuff  in  and 
out  again  when  needed  for  feeding. 

Generally  speaking,  the  barn  should  be 
large  and  high.  The  capacity  of  a  storage 
barn  is  increased  by  additional  height  at 
a  very  rapid  ratio  because  all  kinds  of  loose 
fodder  packs  very  close  in  the  bottom  and 
lies  very  loose  at  the  top.    A  deep  bay  may 


l)e  i'lllcd  to  the  peak  with  hay  at  haying 
lime  and  settle  sufliciently  to  hold  a  large 
quantity  of  sheaf  wheat  a  few  weeks  later, 
but  a  shallow  mow  don't  hold  much  at  any 
time.  It  don't  have  the  weight  sufficient 
to  pack  it. 

There  will,  of  course,  be  a  good  solid 
floor  over  the  car  <-rack  and  there  will  be 
chutes  or  openings  to  let  the  hay  down  di- 
rectly into  the  car  and  there  will  be  a  lad- 
der to  let  a  man  down  into  the  car  to  tramp 
it  full.  The  same  horse  fork  that  is  used 
to  put  the  fodder  in  will  move  the  stufT 
from  the  other  parts  of  the  barn  to  this 
floor  as  it  is  needed. 

Brick  Pavement. 
There  is  only  one  way  to  have  a  feeding 
lot  clean  and  that  is  to  pave  it.  There  are 
dilTerent  kinds  of  pavements  more  or  less 
virtuous  but  the  cheapest  satisfactory  bot- 
tom for  a  feeding  yard  is  brick  laid  on  a 
foundation  of  sand  and  cinders.  The  cin- 
ders help  drainage  and  prevent  the  bricks 
heaving  with  the  frost.  It  is  easier  to  lay 
the  bricks  level  and  smooth  if  an  inch  or 
two  of  sharp  sand  is  scattered  over  the  top 
of  the  cinders.  The  sand  holds  the  bricks 
in  place  and  a  little  sand  does  not  prevent 
the  water  from  ge:ting  away. 

A  great  deal  depends  on  the  foundation 
The  ground  should  be  graded  with  the 
proper  slope  to  the  center  gutter.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  have  an  opening  in  the  bricks, 
the  cracks  between  the  bricks  are  suffici- 
ent, but  a  line  of  tile  should  be  carefully 
laid  underneath  deep  enough  to  be  out  of 
the  way  of  frost.  Frost  does  not  penetrate 
deep  in  a  feeding  yard  under  a  brick  pave- 
ment. During  some  winters  the  ground 
won't  freeze.  There  is  more  or  less  litter 
scattered  about  that  prevents  hard  freez- 
ing. Probably  if  the  tile  starts  n  foot  be- 
ow  the  brick  at  the  shed  end  and  deepens 
o  two  and  one-half  feet  where  it  joins  the 
runk  tile  in  the  allev  the  drain  will  give 
lo  trouble. 


BARN      PLANS 


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RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


Lav  the  tile  first  smoothly  and  evenly 
and  cover  the  joints  with  pieces  of  broken 
tile,  then  fill  in  with  coarse  cinders  using 
no  earth  over  the  tile.  Tile  in  a  mud-bot- 
tom barn  yard  seldom  works  satisfactorily 
because  the  tramping  of  the  cattle  packs 
the  mud  so  that  the  water  can't  get 
through.  A  mud-bottom  yard  has  never 
been  drained  and  the  chances  are  that  such 
a  yard  never  will  be  drained  in  a  satisfac- 
tory manner. 

Commence  laying  the  brick  in  the  center 
over  the  tile  and  work  both  ways  to  the 
fences.  The  herring  bone  style  of  laying 
brick  gives  the  best  satisfaction.  No  two 
brick  tip  alike  when  laid  like  this.  Of 
course  you  want  every  brick  to  lay  flat  and 
level,  but  you  don't  always  get  just  wliat 
you  want.  If  good  hard  burned  bricks  are 
laid  flat,  herring  bone  style  on  a  good 
foundation  you  will  have  more  comfort 
and  satisfaction  than  you  ever  had  in  a 
feeding  lot  before.  If  you  have  lots  of 
money  to  use  and  don't  care  for  expense 
then  put  in  a  cement  pavement  and  build 
it  just  the  same  as  sidewalks  are  built. 
You  will  then  have  a  yard  that  will  last  a 
life  time,  but  it  won't  be  as  dry  as  the  brick 
because  the  water  must  all  run  to  the  end 
or  center  outlet  on  top  of  the  pavement 
before  it  can  get  away. 

The  Shed. 

A  continuous  shed  is  designed  to  run 
the  whole  length  of  the  feeding  plant  with- 
out a  break.  The  shed  is  twelve  feet  wide 
and  eight  feet  high  in  front  and  six  feet 
six  inches  high  at  the  back.  The  shed  faces 
the  south  and  the  front  is  left  open  to  ad- 
mit sunshine.  The  construction  is  light 
and  cheap  as  shown  in  the  detail  drawing 
There  are  no  partitions  except  the  fences 
between  pens  which  run  to  the  back  of  the 
shed,  in  fact  the  fence  posts  and  shed  posts 
are  the  same. 

Two  bv  six  rafters  fourteen  feet  long  are 


used  for  the  roof.  These  are  covered  with 
sheathing  boards,  dressed  one  side,  and 
on  this  is  stretched  a  good  quality  of  felt 
roofing.  The  north  side  is  banked  with 
cinders  to  prevent  the  cold  winds  from 
blowing  under  and  the  ground  floor  of  the 
shed  slopes  to  the  brick  pavement.  A  lib- 
eral supply  of  straw  for  bedding  is  kept 
in  the  shed  and  this  is  carefully  shaken 
up  every  day. 

Feeders  now-a-days  appreciate  the  im- 
portance of  making  animals  comfortable. 
It  takes  a  good  deal  of  feed  to  supply  the 
heat  dissipated  by  animals  lying  on  the 
cold  ground.    Straw  is  cheaper  than  corn. 

Beef  cattle  don't  require  much  protec- 
tion against  the  cold.  Their  thick  winter 
hair  and  hides  are  sufificient  if  they  are 
kept  dry  and  well  fed.  Cattle  will  gain  a 
little  faster  on  the  same  amount  of  feed  if 
kept  warmly  stabled,  but  they  must  have 
fresh  air  and  the  extra  expense  of  individ- 
ual attention  when  handling  them  in  a 
stable  more  than  eats  up  the  additional 
profits  from  the  extra  gains  made.  A  feed- 
ing rack  well  up  above  the  ground  along 
the  Ijack  of  the  shed  is  a  good  thing  at 
times  in  rainy  weather;  it  induces  the  cat- 
tle to  stay  inside.  It  is  better  to  put  the 
feeding  racks  on  the  ground  when  you  use 
them  regularly  every  day,  but  ground 
space  in  the  shed  is  limited  and  such  racks 
will  be  used  occasionally  only.  For  this 
reason  it  is  not  desirable  to  take  up  any 
more  ground  space  than  necesary  for  this 
purpose. 

Corn  Crib 

On  the  south  side  of  the  alley  way  is 
a  corn  crib  six  feet  wide  at  the  bottom, 
eight  feet  wide  at  the  top,  ten  feet  high 
above  the  foundation  uosts  and  as  long  as 
necessary  to  have  an  opening  in  the  bricks, 
necesary.  This  crib  is  intended  for  stor- 
age purposes  to  hold  corn  enough  to  last 
all  winter.     There  is  a  door  in  the     end 


BARN      PLANS 


123 


and  doors  along  the  alley  side  thirty-two 
feet  apart,  each  door  being  opposite  the 
door  of  a  feeder  crib.  A  temporary  bridge 
reaches  from  one  door  to  the  other  so  the 
carrying  may  be  done  with  a  wheelbar- 
row or  car  running  on  a  track.  As  the 
bridge  is  intended  to  be  moved  from  feeder 
crib  to  the  next  a  wheelbarrow  would  be 
handier  than  a  car  because  it  is  lighter 
and  may  be  easily  moved. 
Feeder  Cribs. 
Between  each  two  pens  is  a  feeder  crib 
six  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  eight  feet  wide 
at  the  top  and  eight  feet  high  These 
cribs  are  forty  feet  long  extending  back 
from  the  alley  fence.  This  gives  forty 
lineal  feet  of  corn  trough  for  each  feeding 
yard.  These  feeding  troughs  are  made 
by  extending  two  by  four  floor  cross  joists 
two  feet  beyond  the  sills  at  each  side.  The 
floor  in  the  crib  is  laid  on  top  of  these  cross 
joists  and  the  feeder  boxes  are  made  by 
boarding  on  the  under  side  and  across  the 
ends.  This  makes  the  floor  of  the  feeder 
trough  about  five  inches  lower  than  the 
floor  of  the  crib  which  permits  the  corn  to 
work  out  easily  and  in  case  of  a  driving 
storm  the  water  does  not  run  in  from  the 
feed  troughs  to  wet  the  crib  floor. 

Some  little  experimenting  is  necesary  to 
get  the  opening  the  right  size.  A  smaller 
opening  answers  when  the  trough  is  lower 
than  the  corn  floor.  A  narrow  strip  may 
be  nailed  in  the  opening  at  the  top  if  it  is 
found  too  large. 

The  roofs  of  these  feeder  cribs  are  made 
by  using  sixteen  foot  boards  full  length. 
The  projection  keeps  the  feeder  troughs 
dry  and  provides  a  little  shelter  for  the  an- 
imals when  feeding.  For  the  comfort  of 
the  cattle  it  is  a  good  plan  to.  run  eave 
troughs  the  whole  length  of  these  roofs. 
The  water  could  be  carried  to  the  water 
tanks  or  the  drain  in  the  alley. 

At  corn  harvest  time  these  feeder  cribs 


of  course  would  be  filled  first  with  the  ear- 
liest and  best  seasoned  corn  to  feed  first. 
The  later  and  poorer  quality  of  corn  would 
be  housed  in  the  main  storage  crib. 

It  is  not  every  feeder  of  beef  cattle  who 
approves  of  self  feeder  cribs,  but  if  they 
don't  like  to  have  the  animals  help  them- 
selves the  same  cribs  and  the  same  troughs 
will  be  just  as  useful,  so  that  the  man  who 
really  loves  to  work  may  dig  the  corn  out, 
load  it  in  a  basket  and  carry  it  around  to 
the  side  of  the  crib  and  distribute  it  along 
the  troughs.     It  will  pay  some  men  to  do 
this,  men  who  are  built  that  way.     Each 
man  must  work  in  his  own  harness. 
Silos. 
For    some    unaccountable    reason    beef 
men  have  entertained  a  prejudice  against 
silos.     But  not  every  man  who  feeds  cat- 
tle without  their  assistance  objects  to  si- 
los.    In  many  cases  they  have  more  corn 
stalks  than  they  can  feed  without  trying 
to  save  the  last  vestige  of  the  corn  crop 
and  they  think  the  animals  can  cut  the  feed 
and  mow  it  away  cheaper  than  it  can  be 
done  by  machinery,  but  the  fact  remains 
that  nearly  one-half  of  the  feeding  value 
of  the  corn  crop  is  in  the  stalks  and  leaves 
of  the  corn  plant.    If  cut  just  at  the  right 
time,  when  the  sap  is  all  in  the  stalk,  cut 
up  fine  and  packed  away  in  an  airtight  silo 
the  stalks  loose  very  little  of  their  feed- 
ing value.    They  may  be  kept  a  year  and 
the  last  silage  from  the  bottom  comes  out 
as  fresh  and  apparently  as  palatable  as 
the  first.     Cattle  will  even  leave  pasture 
in  the  summer  time  to  eat  left  over  silage. 
If  we  ask  the  animals  what  they  think  of 
it  their  actions  are  strongly  in  the  affirma- 
tive.   We  must  study  these  things  in  detail 
to  thoroughly  understand  our  business. 

Looking  at  the  silo  problem  from  the 
broadest  side  it  certainly  would  pay  to  put 
some  of  the  crop  in  silos.  The  stalks  from 
eight  or  ten  acres  will  fill  a  sixteen  by  thir- 


124 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


tv-two  foot  silo  so  that  most  feeders  would 
only  have  an  opportunity  to  cut  off  one 
side  of  the  corn  crop  and  they  would  still 
have  a  large  quantity  of  stalks  to  go  to 
waste. 

The  silos  in  the  plan  are  made  of  two 
by  eight  pine  planks  dressed  both  sides,  the 
edges  beveled  and  put  together  like  a  tub. 
They  are  hooped  with  three-quarter  inch 
round  iron  hoops  drawn  up  with  nuts 
against  the  shoulders  of  cast  iron  plates 


as  shown  in  the  detail  drawing  on  another 
page. 

This  feeding  plant  is  designed  to  save 
labor  and  to  utilize  feed  to  the  best  possi- 
ble advantage.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
build  a  large  plant  any  cheaper  and  have 
it  satisfactory.  It  would  also  be  difficult 
to  build,  on  any  other  plan,  a  thoroughly 
practical  plant  that  could  be  extended  in- 
definitely as  the  business  grows  without 
altering  or  rebuilding. 


An  Ohio  Barn — A146 


A  style  of  barn  that  is  very  much  used 
in  Ohio  is  shown  in  plan  (A146).  A  pecul- 
iarity of  this  style  of  barn  is  what  is  com- 
monly termed  a  double  threshing  floor. 
In  some  of  the  larger  ones  the  threshing 
machine  is  set  first  on  one  side  and  then 
on  the  other  for  convenience  in  getting 


the  grain  to  the  machine.  The  bridge 
from  the  bank  to  the  second  floor  must  be 
stronger  than  common  barn  bridges  be- 
cause it  spans  the  space  between  the  barn 
and  the  bank  and  it  leaves  a  runway  for 
cattle  along  the  bank  side  of  the  building. 
In  this  plan  the  cows  have  no  stalls  but 


£/VO  £1  Cyyfrjo/f  or  3/f///f  Sff/f^/ 


BARN      PLANS 


125 


are  stabled  in  an  enclosed  shed  with  a 
feeding  rack  the  whole  length  of  the  side 
so  arranged  that  it  may  be  filled  from  the 
mow  above.  Several  removable  racks  for 
feeding  grain  may  be  placed  anywhere  in 
this  shed  and  a  water  trough  with  an  ever- 
lasting supply  of  good  pure  water  will 
hardlv  freeze  in  here. 


may  all  have  different  quarters  and  be  kept 
separate  ver}^  much  to  the  advantage  of 
the  stock  and  at  a  great  saving  in  time. 
The  dampness  which  is  a  bad  feature  of 
most  bank  barns  is  obviated  in  this  plan 
because  there  is  a  circulation  of  air  all 
around. 

One  of  these  barns  was  built  on  a  hillv 


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There  are  many  points  of  convenience 
about  a  barn  built  after  this  plan,  one  of 
which  is  the  facility  for  getting  all  around 
it.  Gates,  fences  and  retaining  walls  for 
the  bank  offer  opportunities  for  stock  pens 
in  almost  every  corner  without  interfering 
with  the  barn  proper.  The  entrance  to 
the  barn  being  overhead  the  whole  ground 
space  around  the  barn  is  left  free  to  han- 
dle stock.     Horses,  cows,  sheep  and  hogs 


farm  in  southern  Ohio  on  a  site  some  dis- 
tance from  the  house  and  about  twenty 
feet  higher,  in  fact  the  house  was  on  one 
hill  and  the  barn  on  another  with  a  small 
ravine  separating  them.  Two  round  wood- 
en water  tanks  were  placed  near  the  top 
of  the  barn  and  these  tanks  were  kept  sup- 
plied by  means  of  a  hydraulic  ram  work- 
ing from  a  running  spring  of  pure  clear 
water  back  among  the  hills. 


126 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


To  facilitate  cleaning  the  tanks  one  at 
a  time,  they  were  connected  at  the  bottom 
with  a  short  pipe.  In  this  pipe  were  two 
globe  valves  and  between  the  valves  was 
the  outlet  pipe  to  the  house  and  to  the 
stock  watering  troughs. 

The  pipe  that  brought  the  supply  from 


longer  they  were  inclined  to  become  slimy. 
About  seventy-five  head  of  cattle  and 
horses  were  kept  on  the  farm  besides  oth- 
er stock  and  their  thrift  was  due  in  great 
measure  to  the  unlimited  supply  of  good 
water  within  easy  reach  at  all  times  where 
they  could  drink  out  of  cement  troughs 


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the  spring  entered  the  tops  of  both  tanks 
in  a  similar  way.  Two  valves  in  the  cross 
pipe  permitted  to  water  to  flow  into  either 
tank  or  both  tanks  as  desired. 

This  arrangement  of  feed  and  outlet 
pipes  made  provision  for  emptying  and 
cleaning  either  tank  at  any  time  without 
interfering  with  the  water  supply  because 
the  other  tank  could  be  continued  in  use. 
In  practice  it  was  found  desirable  to  clean 
both  tanks  twice  each  year  because  if  left 


and  cast  iron  buckets  in  convenient  places 
about  the  stable  and  nearby  pasture  lots. 
Besides  supplying  the  stock  an  inch  pipe 
was  carried  under  ground  to  the  house, 
which  was  in  this  way  supplied  with  hot 
and  cold  running  water  in  the  kitchen  sink 
and  bath  room.  There  was  also  an  outside 
hose  tap  for  sprinkling  the  lawn  and  wat- 
ering the  flower  beds.  Another  hose  cock 
in  the  carriage  house  supplied  a  hose  brush 
for  washing  buggies. 


BARN      PLANS 


127 


It  might  be  noted  that  help  stayed  along 
on  the  farm  year  after  year.  One  man 
grew  up  on  the  place  from  a  chore-boy 
and  only  left  to  get  married  and  work  on 


a  farm  of  his  own.  Farm  hands  are  quick 
to  appreciate  modern  improvements. 
Farmers  who  plan  right  can  keep  help  and 
make  money  from  their  work. 


^/D£  CLeK/7T/OA/  or  s/f/v/r  s/V/e/V 

Well  Planned  Horse  Barn— A171 


We  are  herewith  illustrating  a  horse 
barn  and  in  addition  to  a  few  words  about 
its  utility  we  will  explain  its  construction, 
which,  we  trust,  will  be  of  interest  to  the 
readers.  To  make  this  article  more  com- 
prehensiye  to  those  interested  in  barn  con- 
struction we  show  an  exact  reproduction 
of  the  architectural  plans  after  which  the 
building  was  erected. 

This  building  is  designed  to  accommo- 
date fourteen  horses,  haying  ten  single 
stalls  and  four  box  stalls,  and  all  the  nec- 


essary feed  bins,  harness  room,  wash 
room,  grain  room,  carriage  room,  storage 
rooms,  etc. 

The  carriage  room,  which  is  30  by  36 
feet  clear  span  without  posts,  is  on  the  east 
end  and  has  an  entrance  of  large  double 
sliding  doors,  and  also  a  large  sliding  door 
to  the  horse  stable.  The  carriage  room 
floor  contains  a  carriage  wash  near  its 
center  and  overhead  is  a  large  trap  door, 
so  any  vehicles  which  are  out  of  use  can  be 
hoisted  up  to  the  floor  above  for  storage. 


128 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


The  carriage  room  also  has  direct  doors  tions  between  all  stalls  have  wire  grills 

to  the  harness  washing  room.  The  harness  running  up  to  a  height  of  about  7  feet  above 

room  is  equipped  with  dust  proof  cases  for  the  floor,  thus  obtaining  a  free  circulation 

ihc  harness,  blankets,  etc.,  and  the  wash-  of  light  and  air.     Each  stall  is  equipped 

ino-  room  contains  a  sink  with  soft  water  with  a  window  that  is  hinged  on  top  and 


supply  and  all  the  necessary  fixtures  re-  swinging  out.    This  provides  each  animal 

quired  for  the  washing  and   --epairing  of  with  fresh  air  and  a  direct  draft  upon  the 

the  harness.  animal  is  avoided  by  these  windows  be- 

The  stable  room   contains   a   watering  ing  placed  up  near  the  ceiling,  also  being 

trough,  a  store  room  for  tools,   shovels,  covered  with  a  wire  screen  for  protection, 

etc.,  and  a  grain  room  for  the  mixing  of  All  stalls  have  cast  iron  feed  boxes,  salt 


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feed,  and  which  has  small  grain  bins  which  boxes  and  wrought  iron  hay  racks  con- 
arc  connected  with  spouts  from  the  larger  nected  directly  with  hay  chutes  from  the 
bins  on  the  upper  floor.  hay  room  above.  All  stall  floors  are  slight- 
Thc  box  stalls  have  sliding  doors  with  ly  sloped  to  the  back  and  there  connected 
a  wire  grill  in  the  top  halt,  and  the  parti-  with  a  cast  iron  drain  trough  running  the 


BARN      PLANS 


129 


full  length  of  and  on  each  side  of  the  drive- 
way.   . 

In  the  ceiling  of  this  driveway  is  a  large 
trap  door  for  throwing  down  hay  and  bed- 
ding, and  also  for  the  hoisting  of  hay  from 


of  hay,  bedding,  grain  and  feed,  and  the 
room  above  the  carriage  room  is  partition- 
ed off  into  a  dust-proof  room  for  the  stor- 
age of  vehicles,  etc. 

This  building  is  built  on  a  foundation  of 


the  hay  wagon  in  stormy  weather. 

One  of  the  roof  ventilators  has  a  shaft 
running  down  to  the  ceiling  of  the  horse 
stable  for  ventilation,  and  is  at  this  ceiling 
provided  with   trap  doors   by  which   the 


stone  piers,  so  as  to  admit  a  free  circula- 
tion of  air  under  the  floor  and  to  prevent 
the  floor  from  becoming  cold  in  the  horse 
stable.  It  is  built,  as  will  be  seen  in  the 
detail  above  the  longitudinal  section,  by 


flow  of  air  can  be  regulated  as  desired, 
and  this  shaft  at  the  same  time  serving  for 
a  hay  and  bedding  chute. 

The  second  story  is  used  for  the  storage 


first  resting  the  joists  upon  the  sills,  then 
floored  with  a  matched  floor  i  inch  thick, 
which  is  covered  with  a  heavy  building 
paper,  then  2  by  2  inch  strips  are  nailed 


I30 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


one  over  each  joist.  The  space  between 
these  strips  is  filled  with  mineral  wool, 
then  this  entire  surface  is  floored  with  a 
strong  floor  1^4  inches  thick,  and  on  this 


6  inch  braces.  The  outside  walls  are  form- 
ed by  filling  in  between  these  bent^  with 
2  by  6  inch  studding  spaced  2  feet  on  cen- 
ters and  well  spiked  to  the  floor  joist,  sills 


are  laid  strips  of  various  thickness  to  re- 
ceive and  form  a  pitch  to  the  stall  floors. 
On  the  sills  over  each  stone  pier  is  set  a 
6  by  8  inch  post  for  the  support  of  the  sec- 
ond story  floor  and  roof.  These  posts  run 
up  to  the  plate,  which  is  a  6  by  8  inch  tim- 
ber, and  at  the  second  story  joist  level 
there  is  a  6  by  8  inch  timber  notched  in 
between  these  posts  for  the  bearing  plate 
of  the  second  floor  joist.  All  these  timbers 
are  braced  at  all  intersections  with  4  by 


and  plates.  The  inside  surface  of  these 
studding  are  covered  with  heavy  building 
paper,  then  ceiled  with  matched  flooring, 
and  the  outside  surface  of  studding  is  also 
covered  with  paper  and  then  sided  with 
drop  siding.  The  roof  is  of  cedar  shingles 
dipped  in  moss-green  creosote  stain,  which 
in  contrast  with  the  white  painted  walls, 
makes  a  very  artistic  effect.  The  interior 
of  the  carriage  room  is  finished  with  yel- 
low pine  beaded  ceiling. 


A  Servicable  Barn — A172 


We  are  here  illustrating  a  small  barn, 
which  is  twenty  feet  by  thirty-two  feet, 
and  contains  a  carriage  room  thirteen  feet 
by  nineteen  feet,  which  has  large  double 
doors  in  front  that  will  admit  the  largest 
size  carriage,  a  wide  single  door  to  the 
horse  stable,  and  a  stairway  leading  to  the 
upper  floor,  which  is  for  the  storage  of 
hay,  feed,  etc.,  and  will  admit  the  installa- 
tion of  a  man's  room  if  it  is  desired. 

This  barn  contains  two  single  stalls  and 
a  box  stall.  Each  stall  has  a  direct  win- 
dow, which  is  high  enough  from  the  floor 
to  avoid   too   much   draft   on   the   horses 


and  is  protected  by  a  wire  mesh  guard. 

This  barn  has  been  designed  for  utility 
and  is  practical  in  every  way.  The  ar- 
rangement is  convenient,  and  it  is  of  a  neat 
appearance  on  the  outside.  If  painted  a 
stone  grey,  with  all  trimmings  and  cor- 
nice work  painted  pure  white,  it  would 
be  a  credit  to  any  neighborhood. 

The  carriage  room  has  a  cement  floor, 
which  is  slightly  pitched  from  all  direc- 
tions down  to  the  center,  where  it  is  pro- 
vided with  a  floor  drain.  This  will  admit 
the  carriages  to  be  washed  any  place  in 
the  room  without  injury  to  the  floor  and 


BARN      PLANS 


131 


the  side  walls,  which  are  wainscoted  with 
Portland  cement  to  a  height  of  two  feet 
six  inches. 

All  the  walls  of  the  first  story  and  ceil- 
ing are  finished  with  clear  southern  yellow 
pine,   beaded   ceiling,   with   two   coats   of 


when  laid  the  boards  will  fit  tightly  to- 
gether at  the  bottom  and  leaving  about  an 
eighth  of  an  inch  crack  on  the  top  surface, 
which  is  then  filled  with  hot  tar.  This 
construction  makes  a  very  durable  and 
sanitary  floor.     The  entire  stall  floor  is 


yi^vc  j^L£VA'r''o/^ 


hard  oil.  This  makes  a  very  pretty  effect 
for  a  stable  and  it  is  at  the  same  time  very 
serviceable.  The  stall  floors  are  of  double 
thickness  one  and  three-quarter  inch 
floors.  The  first  floor  is  tongued  and 
grooved,  tightly  laid,  and  then  covered 
with  hot  tar.  The  upper  floor  is  then  laid 
and  has   slightly   beveled   edges,    so   that 


pitched  slightly  to  the  rear  to  a  cast  iron 
gutter  with  perforated  cover  and  connect- 
ed with  the  catch  basin  and  sewer.  The 
second  floor  has  ample  storage  room  for 
a  winter's  supply  of  hay  and  feed  for  three 
horses  and  is  of  strong  construction.  The 
roof  is  of  shingles  and  the  ventilator  gives 
the  building  a  complete  appearance. 


A  Canadian  Barn — A183 


We  are  here  illustrating  a  large  stock 
and  dairy  barn  which  has  been  designed 
for  a  large  Canadian  farm  and  has  man}' 
good  features  worth  noting,  both  from 
the  builder's  and  the  dairyman's  point  of 
view. 

The  shape  of  the  building  was  develop- 
ed with  the  view  of  giving  the  best  shelter 
to  the  stock.  From  the  points  of  the  com- 
pass, as  shown  on  the  floor  plan,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  wings  of  the  cow  barn 
and  the  young  stock  barn  are  so  situated 
as  to  keep  the  north  wind  ofif  the  stock 
when  it  is  let  out  for  exercise  during  the 
winter  months,  and  at  the  same  time  giv- 


ing them  all  the  sunshine.  The  building 
is  also  arranged  to  be  convenient  from  the 
paddocks,  pastures,  etc.,  allowing  the  stock 
to  approach  their  respective  stalls  without 
having  to  be  driven  across  unnecessary 
driveways  or  through  a  series  of  gates. 

The  building  is  built  of  wood,  on  a  foun- 
dation of  concrete,  which  is  put  in  place 
by  excavating  the  trenches  the  exact  width 
and  depth  of  the  wall  and  then  the  con- 
crete is  dumped  and  tamped  into  the 
trench,  thus  avoiding  the  work  and  ex- 
pense of  planking  for  concrete  forms  be- 
low grade.  Above  grade  the  concrete  is 
tamped  between  planks  well  fastened  in 


132 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


^ 

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-ar 

-- 

•^'■s 

T 

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^  5 

1  [ 

5 1 

^     s 

s    r 

1        E 

134  RADFORD'S 

place  in  the  usual  manner  The  concrete 
wall  extends  up  to  the  floor  level  where 
the  wood  construction  begins.  The  space 
between  the  studding  from  the  floor  up  to 
the  window  sill  level  is  also  filled  with 
concrete  after  the  walls  have  been  sided 
with  drop  siding  over  a  layer  of  thick  tar 
paper.  After  the  concrete  between  the 
studding  has  become  hard  metal  lath  are 
put  in  place  on  the  interior  face  of  stud- 
ding and  over  the  concrete,  which  is  then 
plastered  with  cement  mortar,  making  a 


PRACTICAL 

elevator  boot  for  loading  grain  into  the 
bins. 

This  granary  being  located  near  the 
center  of  the  barn  is  very  convenient  for 
feeding  the  stock  and  adds  to  the  exterior 
appearance  of  the  building.  The  basement 
of  the  granary  is  used  for  the  storage  of 
roots  for  the  stock  and  can  be  equipped 
with  a  kettle  for  boiling  and  mi.xing  foods, 
etc. 

The  cow  barn  contains  57  cow  stalls  and 
arranged     with     a     feed     alley     running 


cement  wainscoting  around  the  walls, 
which  makes  a  perfectly  sanitary  barn. 
The  concrete  filled  walls  help  greatly  to 
keep  the  barn  warm  in  winter  and  cool  in 
summer,  as  well  as  to  stifi^en  the  structure 
against  heavy  winds. 

The  granary  is  located  at  the  center  of 
the  north  side  and  contains  eight  large 
hopper  bottom  bins  for  the  storage  of 
grain  and  feed.  The  bottom  of  each  bin 
is  connected  with  a  spout  leading  to  an 
elevator  boot  in  the  basement,  which  ele- 
vates the  grain  to  a  revolving  head  so  that 
the  grain  can  readily  be  transferred  from 
one  bin  to  another  or  onto  a  truck  or  wag- 
ons. Some  of  the  bins  also  have  spouts 
wagon-bed  height  above  the  floor  for  feed- 
ing purposes.  The  main  driveway  of  the 
barn  goes  through  this  granary  and  con- 
tains a  combination  dumping  scales  with 
a  hopper  imder  the  floor  spouted   to  the 


through  the  entire  length  with  the  man- 
gers on  either  side,  so  the  cattle  can  be 
conveniently  fed  from  a  truck  or  a  trolley 
track  system  suspended  from  the  ceiling. 
The  cows  stand  facing  each  other  and  the 
mangers  are  continuous,  constructed  out 
of  concrete  which  forms  part  of  the  cement 
floor.  The  stall  floors  are  of  concrete  cov- 
ered with  plank,  which  can  be  taken  up 
and  cleaned  or  renewed  when  desired. 
The  manure  gutters  have  sufficient  fall  to 
drain  all  liquids  to  one  outlet  in  the  center 
which  is  connected  with  a  catch-basin,  and 
also  contains  gate  valves  so  arranged  that 
while  scrubbing  the  water  can  be  switch- 
ed into  a  sewer.  The  passages  back  of 
the  cows  are  of  good  width  for  milking 
and  bedding  the  stock  and  trucking  out 
manure  to  platforms  built  at  the  end  of 
each  passage  outside  of  the  building.  The 
ventilation  is  well  taken  care  of  bv  ducts 


BARN      PLANS 


135 


in  the  walls  which  carry  the  air  to  the 
ventilators  on  the  roof. 

The  young  stock  barn  is  located  to  the 
west  of  the  cow  barn  and  contains  six  box 
stalls  for  bulls  and  calves.  These  stalls 
are  constructed  from  heavy  wrought  iron 
gas  pipe,  having  three-inch  pipes  for  cor- 
ner posts  and  for  top  or  header  rail,  and 
ii^-inch  pipe  spaced  6  inches  apart  for  the 
stall  partitions ;  these  pipes  are  set  up- 
right with  the  bottom  ends  well  bedded 
in  the  concrete  floor  and  the  upper  ends 
screwed  into  the  3-inch  header.  The  gates 
are  also  of  pipe  construction  and  have  self- 
closing  locks  and  hinges. 

There  are  28  single  stalls  with  swinging 
stanchions  for  calves,  one-year-olds,  and 
dry  stock  similar  in  arrangement  to  the 
stalls  of  the  milk  cows  only  not  so  wide, 
as  no  milking  room  is  necessary. 

The  wing  also  contains  a  hospital  stall 
which  is  isolated  from  all  others  by  solid 
walls  and  has  all  side  walls,  floor  and  ceil- 
ing finished  with  cement  which  is  imper- 
vious to  moisture  and  can  be  readily  dis- 
infected. Opposite  the  hospital  stall  is  a 
watchman's  room  for  a  man  who  can  at- 
tend any  sick  stock  during  the  night. 

The  silos  are  centrally  located  for  con- 
venience in  feeding  and  filling,  as  the  sil- 
age cutter  can  be  located  in  the  central 
feeding  room  and  thus  be  operated  in  all 
kinds  of  weather  during  the  ensilage  sea- 
son. The  silos  are  constructed  of  stud- 
ding spaced  12  inches  on  centers,  sheathed 
on  the  inside  with  two  thicknesses  of  1 1/2- 
inch  by  6  inch  sheathing  bent  around  hori- 
zontal and  then  veneered  on  the  inside 
with  hard,  vitreous  paving  brick  laid  in 
cement  mortar,  each  brick  being  tightly 
pressed  against  the  sheathing  so  that  the 
silage  pressure  can  not  force  it  out  of 
place.  The  exterior  of  each  silo  is  finished 
to  match  the  balance  of  the  building.  The 
silos  have  a  concrete  foundation  which  is 


flush  on  the  inside  with  the  face  of  brick 
lining,  and  being  excavated  down  to  the 
footing  increases  its  capacity  by  about  50 
tons.  The  floors  are  of  concrete,  dished 
to  the  center,  and  connected  with  a  deep 
seal  trap  and  drain. 
.  South  of  the  silos  is  the  horse  barn, 
which  contains  17  single  stalls  on  one  side 
and  9  single  and  4  box  stalls  on  the  other 
side,  giving  it  a  capacity  of  thirty  horses. 
Each  stall  has  an  outside  window  for  light 
and  ventilation.  These  windows  are 
about  seven  feet  from  the  floor  to  avoid 
draft  on  the  animals,  and  protected  by  a 
wire  mesh  guard.  The  stall  partitions 
are  of  wood  to  a  height  of  5  feet  6  inches, 
above  which  there  are  wire  mesh  guards, 
giving  a  good  circulation  of  air  and  light. 
The  stall  floors  are  of  double  thickness  of 
i^  inch  by  6  inch  flooring  with  several 
thicknesses  of  roofing  felt  laid  in  hot 
tar  between.  All  stall  floors  are  slightly 
sloped  down  towards  the  driveway  and 
have  cast  iron  gutters  with  perforated  cast 
iron  covers  and  connected  with  catch-basin 
and  sewer. 

East  of  the  horse  barn  is  the  chicken 
house,  having  a  capacity  of  350  fowls,  di- 
vided into  seven  compartments  of  50  each,, 
so  arranged  that  the  chickens  get  the 
south  sun  and  protected  from  the  cold 
north  winds. 

East  of  the  horse  barn  is  the  shed  for 
wagons  and  farming  implements  with  a 
door  into  the  horse  stable,  so  the  team  can 
be  taken  directly  from  the  stable  into  the 
shed  and  hitched  up  without  having  to  go 
through  a  barn  yard. 

There  are  many  other  conveniences 
about  this  building,  but  we  must  refrain 
in  this  article  for  lack  of  space.  Suffice  it, 
therefore,  to  conclude  in  stating  that  the 
building  is  so  constructed  that  any  depart- 
ment of  the  same  can  at  any  future  time 
be  extended  or  added  to. 


136 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


A  Cement  Rough  Cast  Barn — A182 


A  carriage  house  and  stable  plastered 
on  the  outside  with  cement  inortar  with 
a  rough  cast  finish  is  shown  in  plan  (No. 
A182).  There  are  locations  where  a  base- 
ment for  laundry  purposes  under  the  house 
is  not  desirable.  This  plan  for  a  carriage 
house  with  a  laundry  attachment  was  de- 
signed especially  to  meet  such  cases.  In 
New  Orleans,  La.,  such  carriage  houses 


barns  are  provided  in  this  building,  but  it 
is  a  little  more  elaborate  than  ordinary. 
The  box  stalls  are  especially  large  and 
roomy,  there  is  a  larger  feed  room  than 
is  customary  and  the  harness  room  is  a 
little  larger  than  we  usually  find  in  a  small 
or  medium  sized  stable.  But  the  especial 
features  about  the  building  are  the  rooms 
for   servants    with    an   entrance    separate 


7VK>/vr-    T^CE^^T/O/^ 


are  quite  common.     There  is  a  great  deal  from  the  carriage  house,  and  the  laundry 

of  made  ground  and  the  sewers  are  not  with    its    hot    water    heating    apparatus, 

deep  enough  to  permit  much  underground  which   not  only  furnishes  hot  water  for 

building,  so  that  basement  laundries  are  washing  and  for  stable  use,  but  to  warm 

not  common.     To  meet  just  such  condi-  the  stables  and  the  servants'  rooms  in  win- 

tions    stables    with    laundry    rooms    just  ter.     This    laundry    room    is    also    large 

seem  to  fill  the  bill,  especially  when  they  enough  to  hold  the  clothes  lines  in  stormy 

are  well  designed  and  built  to  suit  indi-  weather,  and  there  are  plenty  of  windows 

vidual  needs.  for  light. 

This  building  is  substantial  in  appear-  Laundry  work  is  a  problem  in  the  south 

ance  and  the  manner  of  construction   is  as  well  as  in  the  north.     Those  who  get 

very  satisfactory  for  a  warm  climate.  The  along  with  the  least  friction  usually  have 

outside  cement  work  when  properly  put  the  best  possible  conveniences  for  doing 

on   with   metal  lath   is  very  durable.     It  the    work.      Large    light    laundry    rooms 

looks  well  and  is  not  expensive.  supplied  with  plenty  of  hot  water  and  fur- 

The  usual  conveniences  found  in  small  nished  with  good  machinery  and  tubs  that 


BARN      PLANS 


137 


^^y&.  7^     :e:jl.  'EV-i\r/0/\/ 


138 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


are  rightly  placed  and  fitted  with  the  nee-  For  a  pretentious  property  a  stable 
essary  faucets,  waste  pipes,  etc.,  offer  more  building  of  this  size  and  design  looks  well, 
inducements  to  do  good  work  and  less  oc-  The  building  is  large  enough  to  match  up 
casion  for  complaints  than  ordinary.  well  with  a  good  big  residence  and  the  de- 
There  are  many  advantages  in  having  sign  and  style  of  the  roof  shows  character 


L7:'-~.j/.:£  zim<^.'as/ 


the  laundry  room  away  from  the  house,  enough  for  a  house,  in  fact  many  costly 

It  avoids  confusion  in  the  house  on  wash  houses  are  built  with  roofs  that  are  less 

days  and   the  odors  of  dirty  steam  and  attractive  than  this  one.    A  carriage  house 

soapy  water  are  done  away  with.  like  this  is  n'ot  complete  without  a  good 

X . L 


o^r^A2^  ^za:yr  a*c  noa?^  rM 


BARN      PLANS 


139 


wide  drive  leading  to  it.  This  design  re- 
quires a  smooth  pavement  in  front  of  the 
building  one-third  wider  than  the  building 
itself.  It  should  have  a  pretentious  ap- 
proach to  give  it  proper  setting.     Some- 


times an  inferior  building  can  be  given  a 
r.oyal  appearance  by  an  elaborate  entrance. 
A  driveway  to  the  stable  is  part  of  the  en- 
trance. In  this  plan  the  inside  is  right, 
the  outside  looks  well. 


Hexagonal  Poultry  House — A174 


The  house  shown  is  in  the  shape  of  a 
hexagon  and  makes  a  very  handsome  and 
convenient  house,  and  is  just  the  thing 
for  the  city  lot,  where  space  is  limited.  The 


Et-E-V/ATIOH. 

ground  or  floor  plan  will  show  you  the 
interior  arrangement.  The  size  of  this 
house  is  ten  feet  six  inches,  and  each  of 
the  sides  is  six  feet  three-quarters  inch  in 
length.  The  corner  posts  are  six  feet 
long  and  the  center  of  the  house  nine  feet 
from  floor  to  peak  of  roof.  The  house 
should  be  built  with  one  window  facing  di- 
rectly south  and  the  other  facing  south- 
east, thus  allowing  ^n  abundance  of  sun- 
light to  enter  the  building  in  the  morn- 
ing-, when  it  is  most  needed. 


In  nearly  all  the  plans  given  it  is  de- 
signed that  the  ground  floor  shall  be  of 
earth,  which  is,  in  most  cases,  the  most 
satisfactory  floor  material,  and  should  be 
used  whenever  practicable.    Cement  floors 


are  also  good,  however;  where  they  are 
used  the  poultry  house  will  generally  pre- 
sent a  more  attractive  appearance  and  can 
be  kept  cleaner,  with  less  labor,  than  a 
house  having  earth  or  wooden  floor?.. 
Wooden  floors  should  not  be  used  if  they 
can  be  avoided. 


A  Pretentious  Stock  Barn — A179 


This  pretentious  stock  barn  is  very  com- 
plete and  of  an  elastic  pattern,  so  designed 
that  its  capacity  can  be  increased  by  build- 
ing on  to  the  gable  ends  and  extending 
them  out  any  distance  that  may  be  re- 
quired without  afifecting  the  general  ar- 
rangement or  exterior  architectural  pro- 


portions in  the  least.  The  two  wings  to 
the  right  and  left  of  the  silo  contain  the 
young  stock  and  horses  respectively  and 
face  the  south.  These  two  wings  form  a 
sort  of  court  around  the  silo,  admitting 
the  sun,  but  obstructing  the  severe  storms 
and  giving  shelter  to  the  stock.    The  silo 


140 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


is  well  situated  with  reference  to  feeding,  two  by  six  studding  covered  with  tar  paper 

being  in  tlie  middle  of  the  cow  barn.    The  and  drop  siding  on  the  outside  and  tar 

cows  stand  back  to  back,  which  is  of  great  paper  and  matched  sheathing  on  the  in- 

advantage  in  cleaning, out  the  gutters,  as  side. 

all  the  dirt  can  be  handled  from  the  center  The  lower  story  has  two  rows  of  posts 

driveway  and  carried  to  the  manure  pits  which   support  the  upper  floor  and  also 


^OUTH     rLEVAH'ION      CF  ^TOCK     BAKN 


to  the  right.  To  the  left  hand  or  west  end 
of  the  cow  barn  is  a  large  room  for  imple- 
ments, wagons,  harness  cases  and  stair- 
ways to  upper  floor  which  contains  grain 
bins,  storage  rooms  for  light  machines, 
vehicles,  etc.,  and  sufficient  hay  and  feed 
room  for  all  stock. 


serve  to  hold  the  stanchions  and  stall  par- 
titions. The  upper  story  ia  of  a  single 
span,  braced  roof  which  allows  the  free 
use  of  a  trolley  hay  fork  the  full  length  of 
the  building. 

The  roof  is  of  green  stained  shingles, 
of   Dutch   colonial   architecture,   and   not 


'•4H-^-hI^I 


M  I  I  I  i  I  I  Mil  I  I  I  M  II  I  I 


^4'"l-;Hi'-"f 


H 


This  building  has  a  concrete  foundation 
with  the  concrete  walls  extending  about 
2  feet  above  the  cement  floor  level  in  the 
stock  rooms.  This  prevents  any  moisture 
from  getting  to  the  framework  and  also 
makes  a  very  sanitary  and  durable  build- 
ing.    The  frame  walls  are  constructed  of 


(ET 


[E 


only  of  a  very  appropriate  design,  but  its 
shape  adds  greatly  to  the  storage  capacity 
of  hay,  grain,  etc. 

There  is  an  embankment  driveway  on 
the  north  side  which  admits  hay  wagons 
into  the  upper  floor  for  the  unloading  of 
hay,  grain,  etc.    This  silo  is  of  frame  con- 


BARN      PLANS 


141 


struction  lined  on  the  inside  with  paving  the  lower  story,  which  simplifies  the  feed- 
brick,  making  it  absolutely  air  tight  and  ing.  The~  building,  as  the  cut  shows  it, 
almost  frost  proof.  There  is  a  trolley  will  accommodate  100  head  of  cattle  and 
track  feed  carrier  hung  to  the  ceiling  of  nine  horses. 

A  Gothic  Barn — A181 


If  the  house  has  a  steep  roof  the  barn 
should  have  a  similar  roof  to  be  in  keep- 
ing. We  often  see  a  house  of  one  style 
and  the  other  buildings  nearby  built  on 
entirelv  different   lines.      If  the  house  is 


There  is  too  little  originality  in  build- 
ing. It  is  much  easier  to  follow  the  local 
trend  than  it  is  to  think  out  a  plan  that  is 
suitable  for  individual  needs.  In  offering 
this  barn  plan  it  is  with  the  idea  that  there 


Dn^/Q/\^   rOR  A^MALL  QAP/V       WITH   FOUR  3TALL^ 

new  and  the  other  buildings  old  there  is  are    many    locations    where    the    style    of 

some  excuse  for  such  incongruity,  but  in  building  and   the   shape  of  the  roof  will 

most  cases  the  house  is  built  first  and  the  match  the  house  and  other  surroundings 

barn  is  added  to  the  lot  some  years  after-  better  than  any  other  plan, 
wards.     In  the  meantime  some  architec-         A   roof  like   this   is  not   economical   to 

tural    fad    has    taken    possession    of    the  build  if  the  owner  is  influenced  especially 

neighborhood  and  every  building  erected  by  dollars  and  cents,  but  there  is  a  style 

must  bear  the  marks  of  the  new  fashion.  about  it  that  shows  up  well  for  the  amount 


142 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


of  money  it  costs.  There  is  a  great  deal 
in  appearance.  When  we  have  things 
right  we  have  something  to  appreciate  for 
a  long  time  to  come.  If  the  house  has  a 
steep  roof  we  can  not  tolerate  a  barn  with 
a  main  roof  that  is,  say  one-third  pitch 
and  a  lean-to  that  is  even  less. 

If  the  mischief  has  been  done  conditions 
may  be  somewhat  improved  by  moving 
the  barn  well  back  out  of  the  way- and  hav- 


Ihing;  they  may  be  aggravated  by  the  per- 
fume or  the  noise  of  the  chickens  when 
they  want  to  sleep  in  the  morning. 

A  good  many  folks  don't  like  neighbors 
and  it  is  generally  for  some  such  reason, 
but  neighbors  are  necessary  and  the 
neighbors  sometimes  build  barns  and  they 
don't  always  keep  them  nicely.  It  requires 
a  level-headed  man  to  lay  out  a  lot  to  the 
best  advantage  and  put  up  buildings   in 


r/R-^T  TLOOH  PAA/\f 
ing  it  covered  vvitii  vines  or  screened  in 
some  way  so  it  is  not  obtrusive.  But  there 
is  something  wrong  with  a  man  who  will 
build  a  gothic  house  and  a  barn  with  a  flat 
roof  on  the  same  lot.  His  ideas  have  been 
dwarfed  in  some  direction.  His  property 
shows  it  because  it  does  not  balance  up 
right. 

A  lot  with  its  buildings  must  be  one 
homogeneous  whole  or  it  shows  at  once 
that  it  has  not  been  arranged  rightly.  A 
village  stable  may  be  made  an  ornament 
to  the  property  or  a  damage  to  the  owner 
and  an  eyesore  in  the  neighborhood. 
Neighbors  often  say  unkind  things  about 
the  owner  of  the  barn  on  the  next  lot.  Not 
always   on   account   of   the   looks   of   the 


such  a  way  that  no  one  can  find  fault  with 
them. 

There  is  something  about  the  arrange- 
ment of  this  barn  inside  that  will  appeal 
to  every  orderly  person.  The  stalls  are 
right  for  convenience  both  in  handling  the 
horses  and  for  cleaning  the  stable.  The 
carriage  room  is  quite  large  and  conven- 
ient with  two  store  rooms,  one  for  gen- 
eral garden  tools  with  a  place  for  a  small 
work  bench  on  one  side,  a  necessity  in 
almost  any  village  lot  where  a  man  is  kept 
to  do  the  chores.  The  other  storeroom 
is  intended  for  harness.  There  is  also  a 
case  which  comes  in  very  handy  to  keep 
the  smaller  things  and  those  that  are  valu- 
able.     The   glass    doors    slide    past    each 


BARN      PLANS 


143 


other  and  may  be  easily  locked  shut.  It 
is  a  good  plan  to  have  some  little  cupboard 
like  this  that  may  be  locked  when  occasion 
requires  it.  In  almost  every  stable  medi- 
cines are  kept,  and  they  should  be  out  of 
the  way  of  children.  It  is  a  splendid  pre- 
caution to  keep  medicine  bottles  locked 
up.  A  great  many  accidents  have  come 
just  from  carelessness  in  this  respect. 

Every  village  stable  that  is  large  enough 
should  have  a  room  for  the  man ;  it  may 


not  be  necessary  at  all  times,  but  the  time 
will  probably  come  when  this  room  will 
be  found  very  useful.  In  this  case  it  is 
built  in  one  of  the  large  gables  where  the 
roof  is  steep  enough  to  lath  and  plaster 
right  on  the  rafters.  It  is  a  case  of  build- 
ing a  roof  and  a  side  at  the  same  time  and 
it  makes  a  saving  in  expense  in  one  way 
or  the  other.  You  either  don't  pay  for  the 
roof  or  you  don't  pay  for  the  side  of  the 
room. 


A    Model    Dairy    Building— A18() 


We  are  here  illustrating  a  dairy  build- 
ing which  is  very  complete  and  answers 
all  the  requirements  for  a  country  dairy. 
It  has  waterworks,  power  and  electric 
light  plant  of  sufficient  capacity  to  supply 
heat,  water,  light  and  power  for  the  vari- 
ous purposes  required  on  a  large  dairy  and 
stock  farm.    The  building  consists  of  three 


foundation,  above  which  it  is  of  the  regu- 
lar balloon  frame  construction.  The  walls 
are  of  two-inch  by  six-inch  studding 
sheathed  on  the  outside  with  matched 
sheathing,  then  papered  and  covered  with 
drop  siding.  The  space  between  the  stud- 
ding of  the  dairy  and  wash  rooms  from 
the  floor  to  the  window  sills  is  filled  with 


/rr  ^/o^^E- 


DAiP-y 


parts;  the  left  hand  wing  is  the  ice  storage 
house  and  also  contains  two  cold  storage 
rooms  for  butter,  cream,  milk,  etc. ;  the 
central  part  is  the  dairy  containing  the 
churn  room,  bottling  room,  washing  room, 
etc.,  and  the  right  wing  is  the  power  and 
pumping  station. 

This    building   is    built   on    a    concrete 


/&>V2-/r   MOU^iE. 


concrete  and  then  cemented  on  the  inside 
forming  a  cement  wainscoting  as  well  as 
strengthening  the  building.  Above  this 
cement  work  the  side  walls  and  ceiling  are 
ceiled  with  beaded  yellow  pine  ceiling. 
The  roof  is  of  moss  green  stained  shingles 
and  has  large  ventilators,  which  makes  it 
hygienic  and  adds  to  the  appearance. 


144 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


The  ice  house  is  insulated  with  several 
thicknesses  of  hair  felt,  air  spaces  and 
matched  sheathing  and  insulating,  water- 
proof paper. 

The  power  house  has  a  basement  which 


contains  the  boilers,  which  are  sunk  below 
the  ground  level  in  order  to  admit  steam 
pipes  to  be  run  underground  to  the  other 
farm  buildings  for  heating  purposes.  The 
pumps  and  dynamo  are  run  by  an  engine. 


JW  T0UZT  noa/^ 


cr^o(jA/D  7^Moo?f  p/,/i/y  /^r  Zi4//^y 


A    Practical    Silo — A175 


We  are  indebted  for  the  following  plans  of  farm 
buildings  to  G.  W.  Ashby,  Architect,  who  is  recognized 
as  one  of  the  leading  architects  along  this  line  in  the 
country. 

We  illustrate  the  construction  of  silos, 
which  are  built  of  concrete,  wood  and 
l)rick  so  as  to  unite  strength  and  durabil- 
ity to  an  artistic  outline. 

The  accompanying  illustrations  show 
the  exterior  during  the  course  of  construc- 
tion showing  the  arrangement  of  the  stud- 
ding, hoops  and  doors. 

The  foundation  walls  arc  constructed 
out  of  concrete  two  feet  in  thickness  and 
running  down  below  the  frost  line,  where 
they  rest  on  a  ten-inch  by  thirty-two-inch 
concrete  footing  course  to  avoid  settling. 
This  concrete  work  is  composed  of  one 
part    Portland    cement,    three    parts    santl 


and  four  parts  crushed  stone,  and  is  re 
inforced  with  a  five-eighths-inch  iron  hoop 
to  prevent  the  walls  from  spreading.  There 
are  anchor  bolts  bedded  in  the  concrete 
with  which  the  wooden  sill  is  bolted  solid 
on  to  the  concrete  foundation. 

The  area  inside  the  foundation  is  exca- 
vated down  to  the  footing  course  in  order 
to  increase  the  capacity,  and  has  a  concrete 
floor  slightly  pitched  to  the  center 

Frost  may  not  do  great  damage  to  the 
silage  as  far  as  its  food  qualities  are  con- 
cerned, but  if  frozen  into  a  solid  mass  it  is 
very  difficult  to  handle  and  should  there- 
fore be  to  some  extent  protected  against 
heavy  frost.  Hence  wood  construction 
with  dead  air  spaces  between  the  studding 
and    heavy    building    paper    between    the 


BARN      PLANS 


145 


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~^/OEr    ^s,    A^A^ptH-^n    -A/.  D-  '• 


146 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


sheathing  has  been  selected  as  the  most     ence  has  proven  that  the  acids  in  the  silage 

practical  construction.  are  very  detrimental  to  the  cement  caus- 

Silage  is  very  heavy  and  creates  a  great     ing  it  to  chalk  and  crumble  away  so  that 


pressure  against  the  walls,  similar  to  water 
in  a  tank,  and  to  prevent  this  pressure 
from  bulging  out  the  walls  the  silo  has 
been  built  in  the  shape  of  a  cylinder.  The 
sheathing  boards  on  the  inside  and  out- 
side surface  of  the  studding  have  lieen  re- 
sawed  to  one-half-inch  thickness  out  of 
one-and-one-eighth-inch  hoards  so  that  it 
can  without  difficulty  be  lient  around  the 
wall  and  securely  nailed  in  place,  thus 
breaking  the  joints  as  to  form  a  contin- 
uous series  of  hoops. 

To  properly  preserve  the  silage  it  is  nec- 
essary to  exclude  the  air,  hence  the  walls 
must  be  perfectly  air  tight.  This  is  fre- 
quently accomplished  by  lathing  and  plas- 
tering the  interior  surface  of  the  silo  with 
cement  mortar,  which  makes  a  very  hard 
and  air  tight  surface.     However,  experi- 


it  becomes  necessary  to  re-coat  the  sur- 
face with  cement  every  few  years.  For 
this  reason,  in  place  of  cement  plastering, 
the  inside  surface  has  been  veneered  with 
vitreous  paving  brick,  which  do  not  absorb 
moisture  and  are  proof  against  the  action 
of  acid.  These  bricks  are  laid  tight  against 
the  sheathing  surface  so  the  pressure  can- 
not change  their  position  and  laid  in  a  thin 
bed  of  cement  mortar  not  exposing  any 
more  mortar  to  the  surface  than  is  neces- 
sary to  properly  bond  the  brick  together. 
The  exterior  surface  is  composed  of 
dressed  and  matched  narrow  flooring 
vertically  to  the  outer  hoops.  About  *^en 
feet  above  the  ground  there  is  a  shingled 
belt  for  exterior  effect.  The  roof  is  of 
shingles  and  has  a  wide  projecting  cor- 
nice. 


A    Model    Chicken    House— Al 73 


This  building  is  68  feet  long  and  t6 
feet  wide,  built  on  a  post  foundation, 
which  is  enclosed  with  planking  covered 
with  "galvanized  wire  cloth  to  a  depth  of 
about  two  feet  below  the  ground,  to  check 
the  tunneling  of  rats,  etc. 

Almost  every  lover  of  poultry  has  his 
own  ideas  as  to  how  the  model  chicken 
house  should  be  arranged  and  constructed, 
and  every  chicken  house  that  is  not  thus 
constructed  may  meet  with  his  severe 
criticism.  We  will,  therefore,  not  lay 
stress  on  any  one  particular  feature  of 
this  building  but  will  say  that  several  dif- 
ferent ideas  have  been  used  which  may  be 
explained  as  follows: 

Rooms  Nos.  i  and  2  (see  floor  plan)  are 


The  roosts  are  placed  above  the  nests 
which  have  a  cover,  or  roof,  pitched  so  the 
chickens  cannot  roost  on  the  nest,  but  are 
compelled  to  get  on  the  roost  above.  The 
nests  are  open  in  front,  having  a  passage 
for  the  chickens,  running  the  full  length 
of  each  section.  The  nest  sections  are  re- 
movable through  doors  opposite  each  sec- 
tion, so  they  can  be  easily  cleaned  and 
aired ;  they  set  on  a  rack  which  elevates 
them  about  twenty  inches  above  the  floor, 
so  the  chickens  can  walk  below  them 
where  the  feed  troughs  are  located,  as 
shown  in  the  section  through  room  No.  2. 

Room  No.  3  is  a  feed  room,  5  feet  wide, 
which  contains  feed  bins  for  grain,  meal, 
etc.    To  the  right  (east)  of  this  feed  room 


used  together;  room  i  being  the  scratch-  are  rooms  4.  5  and  6.    In  this  scheme,  the 

ing  room  which  is  used  in  stormy  and  win-  nest  room,  4,  is  separated  from  the  roost 

ter  weather  for  exercise,  and  room  No.  2  room,  6,  one  being  to  the  west  and  the 

is  the  feed,  nest  and  roost  room.  other  to  the  east  of  the  scratching  rooms. 


v^ 


T^OCiM    A/O.  i 


<riASS£>oo?Wp 


pi- 


^rCT/O/^      THROUGH 


^^CTIOM    THHOUGH 
noOM    A/O.  e 


D^^/QN 


NORTH   ^IDE      ELnVATIOr^ 

or   CmCKEN    tiOUSEl 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


This  may  have  several  advantages  over 
the  idea  of  room  i  and  2  where  the  chickens 
roost  and  lay  in  the  same  room,  but  it  also 
has  some  disadvantages,  one  of  which  is 
that  a  larger  building  is  required  for  the 
same  number  of  fowls. 

The  nests  of  room  4  are  so  constructed 
that  each  nest  can  be  taken  out  separately, 
or  each  entire  section  can  be  taken  out 
through  doors  the  same  as  in  room  2.  In 
place  of  the  chicken  being  in  view  while 
on  the  nest,  in  room  4  the  opening  of  the 
nests  face  the  wall,  having  a  dark  passage 
for  the  chickens.  By  being  out  of  view 
they  are  not  frightened  while  the  eggs  are 
being  gathered,  which  is  done  through  a 
small  round  hand-hole  through  the  back 
of  the  nest.  This  is  covered  by  a  small 
wooden  shutter  loosely  screwed  on  over 
the  hand-hole  so  it  will  always  hang 
closed.  Feed  boxes  arc  similar  to  those 
in  room  2,  are  located  along  the  hallway. 


Rooms  I  and  5  have  earth  floors  and 
boxes  filled  with  dust,  for  dust  baths.  All 
other  floors  are  constructed  double,  with 
two  inches  of  mineral  wool  between  them 
for  warmth,  as  shown  in  the  section.  All 
side  walls  of  the  building  have  heavy 
building  paper  both  inside  and  outside  of 
the  studding,  and  the  space  between  is  al- 
so filled  with  mineral  wool. 

The  space  between  the  ceiling  and  roof 
is  filled  with  straw  during  the  winter 
months,  and  the  ceiling  boards  are  spaced 
half  an  inch  apart  to  allow  a  free  circula- 
tion of  air  through  the  ceiling  and  straw. 
This  is  brought  about  by  having  windows 
at  each  end  of  the  building,  which  are  con- 
trolled by  cords.  All  windows  on  the 
north  have  storm  sash  for  winter.  Venti- 
lation shafts  are  built  in  the  north  wall, 
with  side  shutters  for  admitting  fresh  air 
and  exhausting  foul  air  in  winter,  when  all 
windows  are  kept  closed. 


Power    House    for    a    Farm — A 177 


The  power  house  here  shown  gives  shel- 
ter to  the  various  mechanisms  which  fur- 
nishes the  power,  light,  water  and  heat  to 
the  diff'erent  buildings  of  the  farm  and 
thus  becomes  one  of  the  most  important 
buildings.  Its  engine  room  is  equipped 
with  a  powerful  Westinghouse,  three  cyl- 
inder, gas  engine  which  supplies  power  for 
pumping  water  and  generating  electricity 
for  light  and  power  for  the  various  small 
machines  such  as  cream  separator,  churn, 
ensilage  cutter,  grain  elevator,  ice  hoist 
and  for  many  other  purposes  about  the 
farm. 

The  various  electric  circuits  are  con- 
trolled by  a  modern  marble  switchboard, 
from  which  the  wires  run  up  to  the  venti- 
lator on  the  roof  of  the  building  and  from 
thence  to  the  different  buildings,  supplying 
them  with  incandescent  light  and  power. 


The  pumping  apparatus  supplies  water 
from  a  deep  driven  well  to  two  large  pneu- 
matic pressure  storage  tanks.  The  soft 
water  supply  is  pumped  from  large  cis- 


m 


xc 


-    —    - -i-rT-sra^l-E .   iL. 


BARN      PLANS 


149 


terns  with  a  total  capacity  of  700  barrels 
into  another  pneumatic  storage  tank;  the 
three  tanks  supply  the  various  buildings 
with  cold,  hard  and  soft  water,  having  a 
pressure  of  about  80  pounds  per  square 
inch  and  a  capacity  of  27,000  gallons. 
The  boiler  room  is  of  fireproof  construc- 


tion,  having  stone  walls  and  a  ceiling  of 
book  tile  laid  on  steel  T  bars,  bedded  in 
cement;  this  ceiling  also  forms  the  roof 
which  is  of  asphalt  and  gravel.  The  boiler 
room  is  built  partly  below  ground  so  that 
the  steam  return  pipes  from  the  various 
buildings  will  slope  back  to  the  boilers. 


-5E"C7"/0/sy      ^3/-/OW//VG      ^/^^^/VI/AVG     O^      ;=OWS«    /VOUAEU 


I50 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


Both  boilers  are  of  the  high  pressure,  fire-  tain  hard   and  soft   water,  hot   and   cold 

box  type;  the  large  one  is  of  sufficient  ca-  water  and  steam  supply  and  return  pipes, 

pacity  to  heat  all  the  buildings  in  the  cold-  Between  the  boiler  room  and  engine  room 

est   weather  and   the   smaller   to   furnish  is  the  toilet  and  wash  room  for  the  em- 


&A5EMENT  PLAN  CF    PCWER    H0U5E: 

high  pressure  steam  at  all  times  for  the 
sterilizing  oven,  creamery,  laundry  and 
other  purposes. 

This  building  is  connected  to  the  other 
buildings  with  a  network  of  pipes  run 
through  underground  conduits  which  con- 


Tinyr  TLooR  PLA/v  or  fc//er  hou^e. 
ployees  of  the  farm.  Under  this  wash 
room  and  under  part  of  the  engine  room 
is  a  large'basemcnt  for  coal  and  fuel.  The 
exterior  of  this  building  is  very  pretty  and 
from  an  architectural  point  of  view  it  is 
in  harmonv  with  the  other  buildings. 


Model    Dairy  Barn — A 176 

We  illustrate  herewith  a  dairy  building  brought  from  the  west  door  of  the  cow 
which  is  located  directly  west  of  the  cow  barn  directly  to  the  receiving  vat  in  the 
barn  and  so  arranged  that  the  milk  can  be     dairy  building.    The  milk  cans  are  unload- 


BARN      PLANS 


151 


BQ 


□ 


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152 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


ed  from  the  truck  on  to  a  platform, 
from  which  the  milk  is  poured  into  the  re- 
ceiving vat  from  the  outside  of  the  build- 
ing, thus  avoiding  the  opening  and  closing 
of  outside  doors,  v^^hich  is  very  essential 
in  order  to  maintain  a  uniform  tempera- 
ture in  the  building  and  to  prevent  the  ad- 


In  order  to  obtain  a  purely  sanitary 
milk  much  depends  on  the  care  and  clean- 
liness of  the  various  receptacles,  therefore 
too  much  emphasis  cannot  be  placed  on 
the  washing  and  sterilizing.  All  the  bot- 
tles are  thoroughly  washed  by  machines, 
which   can   do   the   work  very  thorough- 


I^l—  ET  \^yO>rri  (Tjr^ 


-3EC7-/o/v^        Ti-iR'DuCH     AS'.».» 


mittance  of  any  impure  air.  From  the  re- 
ceiving vat  the  milk  flow.0  by  gravity 
through  the  various  machines  and  appara- 
tus without  having  to  be  handled  by  any 
liands  until  it  is  sealed  in  bottles,  not  only 
for  economical,  but  more  especially  for 
sanitary  reasons. 

From  the  receiving  vat  the  milk  Hows 
into  the  separator  and  after  the  milk  has 
been  separated  from  the  cream  it  is  again 
mixed  together  and  then  flows  through 
the  cooler  and  into  the  bottling  machine, 
which  is  located  in  a  pit  in  the  center  of  the 
milk  room.  The  filled  and  sealed  bottles 
are  then  placed  into  wooden  delivery  boxes 
for  immediate  delivery  or  else  stored  in 
the  refrigerator  rca<ly  for  use. 


ly  and  rapidly  by  revolving  brushes,  etc.. 
and  after  a  thorough  washing  they  are  set 
into  the  sterilizing  oven,  which  is  equipped 
with  steam  coils  and  steam  jets. 

The  butter  room  is  located  to  the  left 
of  the  milk  room  and  is  well  equipped  with 
the  most  up-to-date  churns  and  also  con- 
tains the  testing  machine  and  other  appa- 
ratus. The  refrigerator  is  divided  into 
compartments,  and  is  of  the  most  approv- 
ed construction. 

The  construction  of  this  building  is  of 
the  usual  -balloon  type,  having  a  stone 
foundation  under  walls  of  2  by  4-incli 
studding,  which  are  sheathed  and  sided  on 
the  outside.  Between  these  is  placed  a 
double  thickness  of  heavy  building  paper. 


BARN      PLANS 


153 


Manual    Training    on   the    Farm — A178 


Manual  training  is  learning  a  thing  by 
doing  it.  The  teaching  of  manual  train- 
ing does  not  necessarily  mean  that  every 
student  should  become  a  mechanic,  but  it 


L30UTH      ZLZUVTION 

is  founded  on  the  principle  of  truth,  and 
truth  is  taught  in  a  more  direct  and  force- 
ful manner  by  the  aid  of  mechanics  than 
by  any  other  process.  In  a  course  of  in- 
struction the  students  imbibe  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  principles  of  mechanics  as  a 
natural  sequence,  and  by  this  means  a 
practical  knowledge  of  the  problems  of 
life  are  absorbed  in  a  manner  well  calcu- 
lated to  develop  the  mind  along  the  prac- 
tical channels. 


tend  that  he  has  followed  the  instructions, 
because  the  measurements  show  the  mis- 
take beyond  controversy ;  no  argument  ap- 
plies, it  is  the  acknowledgement  of  an  un- 
truth in  concrete  form  and  the  lesson  is 
driven  home. 

This  building  contains  the  office  of  the 
farm  superintendent,  the  blacksmith 
shop,  and  a  room  eighteen  by  thirty-five 
feet  fitted  up  with  the  necessary  parapher- 


nalia  for  teaching  the  elements  of  mechan- 
ics. The  blacksmith  shop  and  working 
shop  furnish  practical  appliances  for  work- 
ing out  the  theories  developed  and  set 
forth  by  drawings,  which  are  made  to  scale 
in  the  manual  training  room  proper.  A 
tool  case  in  one  corner  provides  for  the 
proper  keeping  of  the  necessary  hand  and 
machine  tools  to  carry  out  the  mechanical 
development  of  the  plans. 


Every  farmer  and  every  business  man 
is  the  better  off  for  having  had  a  mechan- 
ical training.  When  a  boy  is  told  to  make 
a  box  four  inches  long,  three  inches  wide 
and  two  inches  deep  the  problem  seems 
simple,  but  when  the  work  is  complete  and 
he  shows  the  instructor  a  box  of  different 
dimensions  it  is  of  no  use  for  him  to  con- 


154 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 


.'M/juAi  TTrnvMC  /loan 


The  motto  "a  place  for  ever)'  tool,  and 
every  tool  in  its  place"  is  rigidly  enforced, 
thereby  demonstrating  the  value  of  sys- 
tem and  order.  The  basement  of  this 
building  contains  the  high  pressure  water 


supply  tanks  that  hold  the  hard  water,  and 
the  cistern  water  required  for  use  on  tlie 
farm.  The  tanks  are  supplied  by  pumps 
in  the  power  house  and  from  these  tanks 
pipes  are  run  to  the  other  buildings,  water 
tanks,  etc. 


^^^B 


W!». 


BARN      PLANS 


155 


I  NDEX 


A.  E. 

An  A-Shaped  Poultry  House 18     Elevated  Chicken  House,  A 62 

Attractive  Stable    31     English  Barn,  An 112 

Excavation 13 


B. 

Balloon  Roofed  Barn,  A 27 

Barn  for  Dairy  Cows,  A 67 

Barn  for  a  Small  Farm 64 


Feeder  Cribs   123 


C. 

Canadian  Barn,  A 131 

Carriage  House  and  Stable 100 

Cattle  Shed   97 

Cement  Block  Smoke  House,  A 46 

Cement  Rough  Cast  Barn,  A 136 

Cheap  Cattle  Shed  73 

Cheap  Grain  Building 102 

Cheap  Hog  House,  A 71 

Cheap  Smoke  House,  A 24 

Combined   Barn   and   Covered   Barn- 
Yard    ■ 55 

Convenient  Horse  Barn 7 

Convenient  Horse  Barn 96 

Corn  Crib 122 

Cowf  Barn  for  Forty  Cows,  A 60 

Cyclone  Barn,  A 40 


Gothic  Barn,  A 141 

Granary,  A 141 


H. 

Hay  and  Grain  Barn 90 

Hexagonal  Poultry  House 139 

Hog  House,  A 99 

Hog  House  and  Corn  Crib  .  .  .  ., 44 

Horse  and  Cattle  Barn 16 

Horse  Shed,  A 57 

Housing  of  Dairv  Cows  .  .    11 


D. 

Dairy  Bank  Barn,  A 19 

Dairy  Barn  with  Storage 42 

Design  of  Ice  House 75 

Detail  of  Brick  Pavement 118 

Double  Corn  Crib,  A 91 

Duck  House,  A 114 


Ice  House  Design 74 

Implement  Shed,  An   38 

Inexpensive  Poultry  House 86 


Large  Bank  Barn,  A 76 

Large  Storage  Barn,  A 48 


156 


RADFORD'S     PRACTICAL 

IINIDEX — Continued. 


M. 

Manual  Training  on  tlie  Farm 153 

Model  Chicken  House,  A 146 

Model  Cow  Barn 58 

Model  Dairy  Barn,  A 150 

Model  Dairy  Building,  A 143 


N. 

Neat  Carriasfc  House,  A 


89 


Octagon  Barn,  An  33 

Ohio  Barn,  An   124 

Open  Front  PoultVy  House 6 


Plain  Horse  Barn,  A 66 

Plan  of  an  Ice  House 9 

Power  House  for  a  Farm 148 

Practical  Poultry  House loi 

Practical  Silo,  A 144 

Preface   3 

Pretentious  Stock  Barn 139 


R. 

Rat  Proof  Granary,  A 106 

Round  Corn  Crib,  A  21 


Serviceable  Barn,  A 130 

Silo  Construction   15 

Silos 123 

Single  Corn  Crib 56 

Small  Barn 108 

Small  Barn  for  a  Village  Lot 70 

Small  Barn  for  Horses 51 

Small  Barn  with  Cement  Floor 5 

Small  Barn  with  Ell  Shed     84 

Small  Barn  with  Stable,  A 23 

Small  Carriage  House 69 

Small  Carriage  House 88 

Small  Carriage  House 72 

Small  Chicken  House 50 

Small  Double  Poultry  House,  A 30 

Small  Double  Poultry  House,  A 45 

Small  Livery  Barn 95 

Small  Poultry  House 35 

Small  Stable    52 

Small  Wagon  Shed   93 

Single  Corn  Crib 56 

Stable  for  24  Cows 36 

Stable  and  Granary  82 

Stave  Silo,  A 109 

T. 

Tank  House,  A 107 

Tower  Tank  House,  A 87 

Two  Small  Ice  Houses 94 


Yankee  Barn,  A 


53 


Radford   American  Homes 


^d^JlL  A?] 


Edited  b_\'  William  A.  Radford.  ]:)resident  of 
the  Radford  Architectural  Company. 

ONE  HUNDRED  IDEAL  HOMES 

Fully  illustrated,  are  contained  in  this  splendid 
work.  There  are  shown  in  detail  the  perspect- 
i\-e  \-iews  and  floor  plans,  accompanied  by  full 
description  of  up-to-date  houses,  such  as  peo- 
ple wish  to  build  to-day. 

ORIGINAL,  PRACTICAL  AND 
ATTRACTIVE  HOMES 

are  the  only  ones  descrilied.  Every  plan  is 
designed  by  a  licensed  architect  Vvho  has  been 
at  the  head  of  his  profession  in  his  particular 
class  of  work. 


ECONOMICAL  CONSTRUCTION  AND   SAVING 

of  many  dollars  for  the  home  builder  and  contractor  has  been  the  keynote  of 
our  effort  in  this  special  book.  It  has  been  our  effort  to  provide  and  devise 
plans  that  will  give  the  most  satisfaction  and  comfort  for  the  least  possible 
expenditure.  In  no  case  has  any  useless  expense  been  put  upon  the  building 
to  carry  out  some  pet  idea.  Every  plan  shown  is  guaranteed  to  work  out 
to  the  best  advantage  in  every  respect,  and  every  bit  of  space  has  been  utilized 
to  the  best  advantage. 

SPECIAL  EDITION 

W'c  have  ,L;one  to  work  at  great  expense  and  obtained  what  we  think 
the  finest  set  of  designs  and  plans  for  houses  to  be  built  at  a  reasonaljle  cost 
that  has  ever  been  offered  to  the  public. 

REMEMBER,  when  buying  this  book  you  are  buying  what  you  cannot 
obtain  from  anyone  else,  and  a  book  that  our  reputation  and  business  standing 
guarantees  to  be  superior  to  any  book  of  a  similar  nature  ever  offered. 

OF  EVERY  BEAUTIFUL  HOUSE 

in  this  book  we  show  perspective  views,  floor  plans  and  full  description. 
Each  book  is  printed  on  the  very  best  quality  of  heavy  plate  paper.  The 
book  is  bound  in  buckram  cloth  with  attractive  cover  design.  256  pages. 
Size,  6^x8  inches. 

Price  $1.00  postpaid. 

RADFORD    ARCHITECTURAL    CO. 

CHICAGO— NEW    YORK. 


Practical   Carpentry 

A  Complete  Up-to-Date  Explanation  of  Modern 
Carpentry.     Two  Volumes 

Ivliti-d  unilor  the  pcrxjiial  suiiervision  of  William  A.  Radfonl.  edilor-iii- 
cliiff  i)f  "Tlu'  American  Carpenter  and  Rnilder,"  and  author  of  "Tlie  Steel 
Square  and  Its  Uses,"  assisted  by  Alfred  \V.  \\'oods,  the  world's  greatest 
expert  on  the  steel  square,  and  A\'illiam  Rcuther.  the  leadins:  authority  on 
carpentry,  joinery  and  buildins:. 

NEW    SPECIAL    EDITION 

This  work  "Practical  Carpentry,"  is  absolutely  new.  being  completed 
only  J''«nuary  i.  1907.  It  was  written  especially  for  us,  at  an  enormous  ex- 
pense, and  can  be  obtained  from  no  one  else.  It  is  written  in  simple,  plain, 
every  day  language  so  that  it  can  be  easily  understood.  It  will  not  bewilder 
the  working  man  witli  long  mathematical  formulas  or  abstract  theories. 

IT  IS  THE  MOST  COMPLETE 

most  accurate,  most  up-to-date  and  most  practical  work  upon  this  subject. 
It  contains  the  best  and  quickest  methods  for  laying  roofs,  rafters,  stairs, 
floors,  hopper  bevels,  mitering,  coping,  splayed  work,  circular  work,  apd,  in 
fact,  for  forming  all  kinds  of  joinery  and  carpenter  work. 

SPECIAL  CHAPTERS 

are  devoted  to  building  construction,  which  takes  the  carpenter  from  founda- 
tion to  roof,  with  complete  illustrations  of  each  detail,  such  as  foundation, 
windows,  cornices,  doors,  roofs,  porch  work,  etc.  There  are  also  special 
chapters  devoted  to  good  and  faulty  construction  and  all  kinds  of  framing. 

400  SPECIAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

There  arc  over  400  illustrations,  many  of  them  cover  an  entire  page,  and 
they  illustrate  completely  and  instructively  the  text.  They  show  the  detail 
and  actual  construction  down  to  the  minutest  point.  They  enable  the  reader 
to  understand  the  text  easily  and  to  follow  the  work  in  hand  without  difficulty. 

REMEMBER,  this  work  is  the  latest  one  published  on  this  extensive 
subject  (issued  January  i,  1907).  This  edition  cannot  be  obtained  from  any- 
one else  but  ourselves.  It  was  made  for  us  at  our  order.  Each  volume 
measures  6x9  inches,  and  is  bound  in  cloth  with  cover  design  attractively 
stamped.  Contains  more  than  300  pages  in  each  volume.  Printed  on  an  excel- 
lent quality  of  paper.     Each  volume  contains  50  modern  house  plans. 

I'ricc  .Si. (HI  pi'r  \iihinu\   postpaid. 

RADFORD    ARCHITECTURAL    CO. 
CHICAGO— NEW    YORK. 


The  Steel  Square  and  Its  Uses 

Two  Volumes 

Edited  under  the  personal  supervision  of  William  A.  Radford,  editor-in- 
chief  of  "The  American  Carpenter  and  Builder,"  and  author  of  "Practical 
Carpentry, "  assisted  bv  Alfred  \\\  Woods,  the  world's  s^'reatest  expert  on 
the  steel  square,  and  William  Reuther,  the  leading-  authorit}-  on  carpentry, 
joinery  and  building.  In  addition  to  containing  all  the  matter  that  has 
appeared  in  the  original  Fred  T.  Hodgson's  Steel  Square  books,  revised  and 
brought  up  to  date,  it  contains  several  hundred  pages  of  absolutely  new 
matter  that  has  never  before  been  printed  or  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
practical  carpenter. 

JUST  PUBLISHED. 

This  very  valuable  and  practical  work  is  published  for  the  first  time.  It 
is  up  to  the  minute,  being  issued  January  i,  1907.  This  splendid  edition  was 
made  especially  for  us,  and  cannot  be  obtained  from  anyone  else.  It  is  not 
a  rehash  and  compilation  of  material  taken  from  other  and  out  of  date  works 
on  this  subject,  but  is  a  brand  new  book  from  cover  to  cover,  written  in  sim- 
ple, plain,  every  day  language  so  that  it  can  be  easily  understood  and  fol- 
lowed. Information  of  value  that  has  appeared  in  former  works,  appears  in 
this  work,  together  with  a  vast  amount  of  new,  practical,  everyday  informa- 
tion, such  as  is  necessary  for  every  progressive  and  successful  carpenter  to 
know. 

THIS  UP  TO  DATE  AND  PRACTICAL  WORK 

on  the  application  of  the  steel  square,  treats  of  the  laying  out  of  rafters, 
finding  the  lengths  of  jacks,  securing  bevels,  laying  out  hopper  bevels,  treat- 
ing of  the  steel  square  as  a  calculating  machine,  and  showing  how  to  measure 
solids,  surfaces  and  distances. 

SPECIAL  CHAPTERS 

are  devoted  to  that  part  of  stair  building  to  which  the  steel  square  can  be 
applied.  Other  chapters  treat  of  heavy  timber  framing,  showing  how  the 
square  is  used  for  laying  out  mortises,  tenons,  shoulders,  etc. 

PRACTICAL  AND  INSTRUCTIVE  ILLUSTRATIONS 

to  the  number  of  more  than  300  are  scattered  through  this  work.  These  illus- 
trations are  not  technical  mathematical  designs,  nor  geometrical  problems, 
but  are  the  thoroughly  practical  illustrations  of  a  thoroughly  practical  text, 
bringing  to  the  attention  of  the  carpenter  such  points  of  interest  and  informa- 
tion as  he  needs  in  his  everyday  business.  While  the  text  and  descriptive 
matter  are  so  accurate  and  easy  of  comprehension  that  they  could  be  under- 
stood without  even  the  assistance  of  the  illustrations,  nevertheless  the  book 
has  been  thoroughly  and  profusely  illustrated  with  diagrams  and  drawings. 
REMEMBER,  this  work  is  absolutely  up-to-date,  (being  issued  January 
I.  1907).  and  }Tiu  cannot  obtain  this  liook  fr<im  anyone  else  but  ourselves. 
Each  volume  measures  6x9  inches,  and  contains  over  300  pages,  being  the 
largest  books  on  the  steel  square  ever  published.  They  are  bound  in  cloth  with 
attractive  cover  designs,  handsomely  stamped.  Printed  on  the  best  quality 
of  paper.    Each  volume  contains  50  modern  house  plans. 

Price  $1.00  per  volume,  postpaid. 

RADFORD    ARCHITECTURAL    CO. 

CHICAGO— NEW    YORK. 


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